Publisher – Virago

Published – Out Now

Price - £12.99 hardback £8.99 Kindle eBook

DARK, POTENT AND UNCANNY, HAG BURSTS WITH THE UNTOLD STORIES OF OUR ISLES, CAPTURED IN VOICES AS VARIED AS THEY ARE VIVID.

Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same woman, a pregnant archaeologist unearthing impossible bones and lost children following you home. A panther runs through the forests of England and pixies prey upon violent men.

From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today.

One of the things I love about stories is they are in conversation with each other and the world around it. Books can react to other books; certain tales evolve to suit modern tastes and sometimes a writer can find inside a story a different theme that appears to have been waiting for us all along to catch up. In Hag- Forgotten Folktales Retold edited by Professor Carolyne Larrington this is a collection British folk tales re-worked by 10 female authors into new stories to suit twenty-first century readers.

Amongst the stories I enjoyed were

A Retelling by Daisy Johnson (Based on The Green Children of Wolfpit from Suffolk)

A weaving meta tale as an author comes to Wolfpit to rework the folk tale of The Green Children of Wolfpit about two children who arrive with green skin not talking English into an old village. This story eats itself and the reader feels like the author to be falling into long-laid path of weirdness. Nature infects setting and the body has an air of suffocation and eeriness that pulls you right in. Never explaining itself fully and haunting. Superb opening tale.

Sour Hall by Naomi Booth (Based on Ay, We’re Flitting from Yorkshire)

George and her girlfriend Ash have inherited the estranged family farm. George has decided she can make a modern farm work However Ash feels troubled by the locals and finds the farm seems constantly unsettling. The locals laugh about a boggart (troublesome spirit) but Ashleigh finds her past life prior to meeting George is catching up on her. As well as the atmosphere of the isolated farm impacting the couple Booth sensitively weaves in scenes of domestic violence and heartache yet gives the story also ultimately hope for the future.

Rosheen by Irenosen Okijie (Based on The Dauntless Girl from Norfolk)

Rosheen is a child born out of wedlock during WW2 in Ireland. She seeks her father and to escape the place she has grown up in and ends up in Norfolk working for a unpleasant farmer who seems to be hiding a secret. Probably my favourite in the collection as Okikjie adds in a relatively short tale a huge amount of depth and texture to Rosheen and the world she inhabits so that when supernatural elements begin it all clicks together into a truly disturbing final image.

Between Sea and Sky by Kirsty Logan (Based on The Great Silkie of Skule Skerry from Orkney)

A tragic tale with two narrators a mother and her young son. The mother is an outsider excavating some unusual burials, but the locals find her having a child without a father as a disturbing threat to their quiet world. The son talks about discovering their wider heritage. This is a story of love that ultimately heads to a sombre ending that really pulls at the heartstrings. Fantastically told with the use of two very different voices where the reader fills in the gaps.

The Panther’s Tale by Mashuda Snaith (Based on Chillington House from Stafford)

In the time of Henry VIII a rich nobleman creates a menagerie of wild animals from abroad and has added a panther to his collection. But the panther is actually an enchanted woman escaping a dangerous husband from India. She strikes a growing bond with a young woman seeking herbs to cure her daughter but both women find this isn’t a particularly kind world. It is a sad tale of loss and betrayal but I really enjoyed the storytelling Snaith used to build up the characters so you understood each one’s motivations.

The Sisters by Liv Little (Based on The Brothers from London)

Actually, a non-supernatural tale but two twins and their dying mother. Grace has become estranged from the family due to being gay although she and her girlfriend Chlo are still friendly with Grace’s twin Maya. This is a family drama of lost passions, repressed love and regrets. Watching a painful car crash happen in front of our eyes. Hard to look away and the emotional tugs are well delivered.

It’s a fascinating and varied collection with a modern refreshing female point of view considering how some tales originally ended. At the end you can read the original tales in their original language style and it also includes a very good scene setting of British folk tales and how they’ve evolved over the centuries. A collection I would recommend for those who enjoy revisions of folk tales and also those who love folk horror.