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Folklore
A journey through the past and present
Brief Description
A gripping guide to the weird yet everyday world of British folklore. In this unique, deeply researched book, two leading experts provide the definitive guide to British folklore past and present. Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook explore folklore in all its remarkable variations, from village rituals...
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See moreThis is the definitive guide to British folklore. Written by two of the country's leading experts, it covers everything from wizards and witches to UFOs and internet fanfiction.
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Description
A gripping guide to the weird yet everyday world of British folklore.
In this unique, deeply researched book, two leading experts provide the definitive guide to British folklore past and present.
Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook explore folklore in all its remarkable variations, from village rituals and fairy tales to UFO legends and internet fanfiction. Travelling through a landscape of witches, wizards, and wicker men, they reveal how folklore has been researched and written about in the past and show how it continues to be lived in the present. At the same time, they provide the reader with a valuable toolkit for understanding how to interpret the diverse examples given.
The book’s key message is that folklore is much more than the fossilised remains of a distant, rural past. Folklore is and always has been ubiquitous, dynamic, and political. It is a living tradition that draws from many sources, including migrant communities, and is forever being renewed and updated.
‘Meticulously researched, imaginative in scope and rich in strange stories and rewarding insights.’ – Malcolm Gaskill, author of The Ruin of All Witches
'The best overall view of the subject currently available, written by its most dynamic partnership of scholars.' – Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present
'Essential reading for understanding our multi-folkloric present.' – Dee Dee Chainey, author of A Treasury of British Folklore
'Full of surprising and brilliant research, the book is an excellent overview of folklore in the past and present.' – Lally Macbeth, author of The Lost Folk: From the Forgotten Past to the Emerging Future of Folk
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781526180407
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 September 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Illustration: 27 black & white illustrations
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 29.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 401g
Pages: 456
About the Author
Owen Davies is Professor of Social History at the University of Hertfordshire. He is the author of numerous books, most recently Art of Grimoire and Troubled by Faith: Insanity and the Supernatural in the Age of the Asylum (both 2023). He has been described as Britain’s foremost academic expert on the history of magic.
Ceri Houlbrook is Senior Lecturer in Folklore and History at the University of Hertfordshire. Her books include The Magic of Coin-Trees (2018), Unlocking the Love-Lock (2021) and Ritual 'Litter' Redressed (2022). In addition to her scholarly work, she writes folklore-inspired fiction.
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