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⭐ 3/5 ⭐

Audiobook narrated by Lucy Patterson and the author.

A compilation of folk tales from ancient Britain, told with flair and some artistic licence. Origins, well known figures from history and myth and creatures both mundane and magical are contained within.

- An imaginative enterprise. Jeff's is clearly well read and familiar with the kernels of these stories. Each tale has its own chapter comprised of a retelling and then an explanation of the source material and history. The tales are often embellished (acknowledged by the author) but are interesting enough and the explanation provides context for the origins and the setting.

- As these are folktales, each is different though often with connecting characters such as Merlin and Arthur. There are a lot of names to remember and this can be quite difficult in audio format where you can't just flick back a few chapters and remind yourself. This makes it difficult to remember the context and connections of some of the characters.

- I found myself zoning out quite a bit if I'm honest. The stories are mostly middling, with a few more interesting. I found the beginning of the book more engaging than the middle and end. That said, the appeal of a book of British folktales (as a Brit) is definitely there and compelled me to finish the book

Probably better in a physical format but a decent collection of stories. Probably more relevant for those interested in early British history and legends.

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Must for any folklore/myth lover

Great retellings of myths. I really liked the way each tale is broken into two parts, the story, then a commentary on the story and the medieval sources.

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Storytelling

I liked the book but I didn’t love it. I thought a lot of it was far fetched and hard to understand. But I enjoyed some of the stories.

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loved listening to new stories of Britain.

very interesting and learnt alot. it's a shame the narrator, not the author, couldn't say the lines in one go. it almost sounded like AI. but I enjoyed the book

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I was hoping for something more

This book should have been right up my street and I wanted to like it, but overall I was underwhelmed. I did not think much of the retellings and the authors reflection/ analysis at the end of each story was self-indulgent. The narrator for the story’s had a very odd stress/ urgency in her performance - probably trying to bring a bit of life to the text - however it made the performance uncomfortable to listen to.

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A wonderful book

I highly recommend Storyland (though reading a hard copy of the book with the images would no doubt be better). It is well narrated, thoroughly researched and very informative.

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2 people found this helpful

A bit short and skimpy

I loved the information and the non judgmental rendering. I enjoyed the battles. My history lessons at school were not that graphic. I enjoyed the reference to pict and scotswhich settles the autuments on whole we’re the original Scot’s. What a lot of tooling and fro-wing the races were up to

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Good narration throughout

Storyland is a good read. Mythology of Britain isn't something taught in British Schools, so finding this book has been great. I really enjoyed both Lucy Paterson's narration and Amy Jeffs explanations too, both are skilled narrators :)

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3 people found this helpful

Wonderful

Beautifully read and written. I recommend this to history fan and fantasy fans alike, it's wonderful.

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Captivating retelling of British myths

This is a really well written and read collection of British myths. The stories are engaging and interesting - really rebuilding how the people of the Middle Ages understood their world. The additional analysis at the end of each chapter really helps put the stories in context. A must for myth lovers and history and literature fans!

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1 person found this helpful