Folklore

A Journey Through the Past and Present

Owen Davies, Ceri Houlbrook

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Manchester University Press
15 October 2025

Museums & museology; British & Irish history; Folklore, myths & legends

A gripping guide to the weird yet everyday world of British folklore.

In this ground-breaking book, two leading experts provide the definitive guide to British folklore past and present.

Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook explore folklore in all its remarkable variations, from village rituals and fairy tales to UFO legends and internet fanfiction. Travelling through a landscape of witches, wizards and wicker men, they reveal how folklore has been researched and written about in the past and show how it continues to be lived in the present. At the same time, they provide the reader with a valuable toolkit for understanding how to interpret the diverse examples given.

The book's key message is that folklore is much more than the fossilised remains of a distant, rural past. Folklore is and always has been ubiquitous, dynamic and political. It is a living tradition that draws from many sources, including migrant communities, and is forever being renewed and updated.

By: Owen Davies, Ceri Houlbrook
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 592g
ISBN: 9781526180384
ISBN 10: 1526180383
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 15 October 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Introduction: a tale of British folklore studies Part I: Coming together and taking part 1 The ritual year 2 Performance Part II: Stories 3 Storytelling 4 Legends Part III: Environment 5 Folklore of the natural world 6 Folk medicine Part IV: Spiritual Life 7 Living with a supernatural world 8 Ritual in the landscape Part V: Intimate life 9 Childlore 10 Domestic life Part VI: Modern media 11 Broadcasting folklore 12 Digital folklore Part VII: Identity 13 The folklore of nations Index -- .

Owen Davies is Professor of Social History at the University of Hertfordshire. He is the author of numerous books, most recently Art of Grimoire and Troubled by Faith: Insanity and the Supernatural in the Age of the Asylum (both 2023). He has been described as Britain's foremost academic expert on the history of magic. Ceri Houlbrook is Senior Lecturer in Folklore and History at the University of Hertfordshire. Her books include The Magic of Coin-Trees (2018), Unlocking the Love-Lock (2021) and Ritual 'Litter' Redressed (2022). In addition to her scholarly work, she writes folklore-inspired fiction.

Reviews for Folklore: A Journey Through the Past and Present

'This book draws a cultural map of who we are, where we’ve come from and how we think and feel about our surroundings. Meticulously researched, imaginative in scope and rich in strange stories and rewarding insights. Fascinating reading.' Malcolm Gaskill, author of The Ruin of All Witches 'The best overall view of the subject currently available, written by its most dynamic partnership of scholars. It not only covers the traditional remit of folklore but extends it into many less conventional areas, right up to the present moment.' Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present -- .