Laying down the lore

Suggestions for further reading

The Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope (Thorsons)

The singer pairs academic rigour with personable accessibility to detail more than 300 prehistoric sites in the UK, visited during an eight-year odyssey to find the wellspring of our cultural identity.

Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain by Russell Ash (Reader’s Digest)

A doorstep tome exhaustively detailing superstitions, hauntings, festivals, mythical figures, etc, in highly readable fashion. So compelling, in fact, that Simon Costin, founder of the Museum of British Folklore, cites it as the source of his fascination with custom. “It’s riddled with inaccuracies, but it was so special,” he recalls.

The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (Hodder)

In which three children discover a sky-scraping magical tree, the departure point for four novels’ worth of adventure. Borrowing heavily from folklore, Enid Blyton has the trio meet characters including Silky the fairy and the Angry Pixie, all in fantastical settings such as the treacle pudding-laced Land of Goodies.