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Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: Reflections on Fairy Tales

Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: Reflections on Fairy Tales

by KatherineLangrish (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2016

    $86.26
Synopsis

Seven Miles of Steel Thistles is a collection of essays on fairy tales, folk tales and ballads by novelist and blogger writer Katherine Langrish. It is the first non-fiction title by Langrish, whose popular blog of the same name, where she discusses folklore and fantasy from an academic perspective, is regularly visited by readers from the United States to Japan and to date has around a quarter of a million page views. She writes with a light and graceful touch, following in the tradition of scholars like Katherine Briggs and Jacqueline Simpson.The essays in this edition reflect upon the role of women in fairy tales, discuss specific tales such as Briar Rose and The Juniper Tree, and look at wider themes including the significance of white ladies, water spirits and fairy brides amongst others.

$86.26

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 304
 Publisher: The Greystones Press
Published: 23 Apr 2016
ISBN 10: 1911122045
ISBN 13: 9781911122043
Children’s book age: 12+ Years
 Book Overview: The book was Nicholas Lezard's Choice in the Guardian for 4th May 2016:

Media Reviews
Langrish is a first-rate storyteller Amanda Craig, The Times; Seven Miles of Steel Thistles is luminous and insightful, bringing a deep knowledge and an acute eye to all the wise old lore of folk and fairy tales, songs, poems, and stories of mystery and enchantment. This is a must read for anyone who has an abiding interest in the stories that have shaped our cultural imagination Kate Forsyth, author of Bitter Greens; Katherine Langrish is a wonderful companion for an excursion into the otherworld of traditional tale. High readable, sharply perceptive about individual tales as well as engaging with wider motifs, this book (developed from a popular and long-running blog) is always down-to-earth, no matter how high flown the subject matter. We know we're in safe hands when we're invited to consider why folk-tale fools and saints can be rather frightening, or to take account of who is telling a story and why, to reflect on how some reports of ghostly happenings (as opposed to structured stories) are almost impossible to discount, and to recognise the role of princesses in fairy tales ('They tell us to be active, to use our wits, to be undaunted, to see what we want and to go for it.') The book is so generously furnished with apt quotations as to seem at times almost like an anthology, and it will appeal to absolutely everyone fascinated by the staying power of folk tales, fairy tales and ballads. ; Kevin Crossley-Holland, Author of Norse Myths, winner of the Carnegie Medal and Guardian Fiction award for his children's books, President of the School Library Association.; Langrish has been collecting fairytales for goodness knows how long, and her knowledge and frame of reference are phenomenal ... What she has done so brilliantly, either making general points or addressing specific stories or themes, is tell us stories about the stories: where they might have come from, what they might mean, or whether they are meant to mean anything. Nicholas Lezard Guardian; The entire collection is readable, and its many subsections invite the reader to linger and reflect on each topic before diving into the next chapter ... her treatment of the texts and of complex issues such as the interplay between written and oral narratives is sophisticated. The book will be of particular interest to enthusiastic readers of fairy tales, and educators might consider assigning single essays to supplement other readings. Sarah Cleto Gramarye Winter 2016.
Author Bio
Katherine Langrish grew up in the Yorkshire Dales reading C.S. Lewis and anything else she could get her hands on. She wrote an eighth Narnia title when she was ten. Later she read English Literature at university, married and lived in both France and America.Katherine sprang on to the international publishing scene in 2004 with Troll Fell, the first in a fantasy trilogy for children and young adults. Her writing is influenced by her knowledge and love of folklore, and has been compared with Alan Garner's; she is a contributor to First Light, a celebration of Garner for his 80th birthday, compiled by Erica Wagner. Seven Miles of Steel Thistles is her first non-fiction title.Katherine now lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and an energetic Dalmatian dog.