Through these old tales, the authors were able to reflect contemporary struggles and tensions in a whole new way. This kind of commentary, butting into the narrative every so often, comes off as comic; but it also reminds us that because these tales have no original per se, since they are defined by their endless retelling.

I found the retellings both poignant and compelling as they held a much stronger contemporary critique. Both she and Johnson explore the problems of writing new versions of unstable stories that developed from a flexible and amorphous oral culture that has reshaped itself over time.She is the author of nine books, including those published by Bloomsbury, Quercus and the National Trust. Grace and Maya are twins but they are completely different from each other except for the way they look. An entertaining collection of short stories, modern retellings of folk tales from all parts of the British Isles. She has also judged various literary prizes including the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Gordon Burn Prize and the BBC National Short Story Award.

IRENOSEN OKOJIE is a Nigerian British author whose work pushes the boundaries of form, language and ideas. Eira thinks that she knows the young woman and she helps deliver the baby only to find out that things aren't as they seem. Surprising, gorgeously written, and profoundly unsettling, this genderfluid retelling of Oedipus Rex will sink into your bones and stay there. Being buried alive, domestic abuse, miscarriage, infertility, infidelity, racism, abuse, shame of single parents, cancer, eye gouging, death and more. Little has hosted a range of podcasts and shows, her awards include LGBTQI+ Broadcaster of the Year, Future Leader and Rising Star at WOW.

They are also matched up with stories from their own region, encouraging both them and us to re-evaluate the places we think we know well. Just as the Brothers Grimm codified Germany's rural folk lore, Hag catalogues the early myths and legends that have shaped the UK's storytelling heritage. Each story is inspired by a forgotten folk tale sourced from across the UK by Professor Carolyne Larrington, a specialist in Old Norse and British fairy tales at St John's College, Oxford. A fellow and Vice Chair of The Royal Society of Literature, she is the co-presenter of the BBC's Novels That Shaped Our World podcast, Turn Up For The Books. Hag features the re-tellings of dark folktales written by talented women from Daisy Johnson to Eimear McBride.

I also liked that at the end of the collection there were the original stories which had inspired these retellings. Loved learning about some lesser known folktales, and combining that with samples of writing from authors new to me. Maybe I would have enjoyed this collection more if I hadn't already known the folklore and folktales they're supposed to be based on, but most of them were so far removed from their origin that they essentially weren't.

In her preface, Larrington states that many of the stories “are in dialogue with ‘folk-horror’ or the ‘new weird’”.

From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten fables dance across our isles and conjure modern myths for the 21st Century. She co-presented the BBC's Turn Up for The Books podcast, alongside Simon Savidge and Bastille frontman Dan Smith. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. There's nothing wrong with this story, but it didn't particularly excite or amuse me, hence my rating. The daughter of a Trinidadian father and an Irish mother, Rosheen leaves Killarney in the 60s to seek her luck on a farm in Norfolk.The original stories are mentioned at the back which was great because I was not familiar with a few of these stories. Trigger Warnings: mention of cancer, possession, exorcism, murder, adultery, homophobia, infertility, miscarriage, mention of child abuse, drug use throughout pregnancy, alcoholism, domestic abuse.