Neil Philip is a writer, folklorist and poet. Among his many books areThe Cinderella Story, Mythology(with Philip Wilkinson),The New Oxford Book of Children's Verse, The Tale of Sir GawainandThe Adventures of Odysseus. Neil has contributed to numerous journals, includingThe TimesandSignal: Approaches to Childrens Books, and has also written for stage, screen and radio. His work has won the Aesop Award of the American Folklore Society and the Literary Criticism Book Award of the Childrens Literature Association.
A treasure-trove of living stories, and enormously fun to read. Enjoy! - Neil Gaiman Shivery, creepy, melancholy, funny, fantastic and very real ... Neil Philip's classic collection offers us an overflowing cauldron of marvellous stories.' - Marina Warner Collections of folktales as good as this should be bound in gold and brought out on ceremonial occasions as national treasures. - Philip Pullman 'A book that inspires and informs, and opens hearts and minds to our story heritage.' - Professor Carolyne Larrington A profound influence on me and Hookland. - David Southwell This is the best collection of English folktales. - Professor Diane Purkiss A superb anthology of more than one hundred extraordinary tales that reveal the exquisite nature of the English storytelling tradition. This is a dazzling book. - Professor Jack Zipes Never was a better time for such a knowing, appreciative volume of our shared tales. - Gregory Maguire An expertly chosen selection of English folktales that is highly readable, endlessly entertaining, and intellectually enlivened. If by some mysterious goblin's spell I was condemned to give away all the books in my library but one, this is undoubtedly the book I would keep. - Professor Andrew Teverson