These Our Monsters: The English Heritage Book of New Folktale, Myth and Legend

Myths, legends, folklore: they are what we grow up with, from Easter bunnies to tooth fairies, to those tales repeated within families down the generations, to the older accounts that are fundamental to societies and nations and can form the backdrop to our understanding of ourselves. Crucially, they are stories, and stories that offer us a glimpse of a world slightly other than the one we know; magical, terrifying, or simply unsettling. Here eight well-known writers tell stories inspired by the myths, legends and lore attached to historical sites within the care of English Heritage:  Sarah Hall, Sarah Moss, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Fiona Mozley, Edward Carey, Alison MacLeod, Paul Kingsnorth and Adam Thorpe; also included is a foreword by journalist James Kidd, who reflects on their stories and the meaning of myth to us today, and a discussion of myths and legends attached to English Heritage sites by the historian Charles Kightly. Key Features: Exclusive to English Heritage Hardback Stories from acclaimed literary novelists and short story writers such as Sarah Hall, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Fiona Mozley and Sarah Moss Illustrations drawn for the stories by the acclaimed artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins Each story inspired by English myths and legends and connected to an English Heritage site Historic and atmospheric settings from Tintagel Castle to Down House in Kent. Authors, story titles and sites: Edward Carey, These Our Monsters, Bury St Edmunds Abbey Alison MacLeod, Great Pucklands, Down House  Paul Kingsnorth, Goibert of the Moon, Stonehenge  Sarah Hall, The Hand Under the Stone, Castlerigg Stone Circle  Graeme Macrae Burnet, The Dark Thread, Whitby Abbey  Sarah Moss, Breakynecky, Berwick Castle  Fiona Mozley, The Loathly Lady, Carlisle Castle