This was a delightful little package of a medieval ghost story wrapped in a great introduction about its origins and an author's note dealing with the abbey in which it was written. The story itself is short and focuses on a tailor named Snowball as he encounters various apparitions. I thought Jones did a great job at updating the story enough for a modern audience's taste while still retaining the essence and feeling of the medieval. Overall, this would make a great gift and I enjoyed it a lot.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A medieval ghost story written by the popular historian Dan Jones. I liked the setting and the recap of the function and historical purpose of the ancient abbeys, many of which are ruins today.

A curious little read. I'm still not too sure how to describe it, other than it left me with more questions than answers...probably as designed.

This was an interesting ghost story, originally written by a monk in the 1400's. It's so cool to see a story written so long ago being rewritten for a more modern audience. Yet the story is similar to ghost stories we still see now.

It's basically about a person who was killed and buried without having prayers said for his soul. It's clear he did something wrong to deserve this but his soul cannot move on unless absolved. So Snowball goes on a mission to do this but he needs help from priests. It's an atmospheric and enjoyable story if a little hard to follow at times.

I did also enjoy the bit of background and history we got of this story and where it came from. It's always interesting to learn some history and I love that this book brings back something that could easily have been lost.

Dan Jones has taken a medieval story and introduced it to a modern audience. I really enjoyed this book, its quite short so its a quick read as well! I hope this is the start of things to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Dan Jones has picked the perfect tale to resurrect. A short story (only 95 pages) from a monk written 600 years ago. The tale it said to be a true account but is full of the supernatural. Dan Jones had retold it wonderfully. Would recommended and worth a read

The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings by Dan Jones was a very good creepy medieval ghost story and very interesting read. Plus great for sitting round a camp fire with marsh mellow, telling ghost stories on cold night leading up to Halloween. I loved it.

Creepy and atmospheric retelling of an early ghost story. Horror fans may be left wanting more, but I thought it was great and very interesting to have this window to the past. A short but absorbing read with fascinating background information.

A strange little book, I couldn't really connect with the story. I did however enjoy the foreword explaining how the texts were discovered etc.

This book was really far too short to merit any in depth analysis, The forword and historical notes were longer and frankly more interesting than the novella

This was a wonderful story. I really enjoyed reading it. I loved how the author introduced it telling us how it it was discovered. The story itself is very short but it had great atmosphere and tension. Im sure if Dan had wanted to he could of padded it out more. I would say it was definitely a page turner and a exciting and creepy quick read with the excellent added history lesson. I definitely recommend this book to all those who love a great short story that is both horror and a historical fiction story. I also thought it was wonderful at the end how the author wrote a short history of the area in which the book was set. Also there was a picture of the original manuscript and it was wrote out in Latin. Now if you are reading this book on the kindle fire switch to text to speech as it's funny. Now I'm not sure if they are reading Latin or reading as it sounds but I had a great time listening to it being read.

I just love the authors history books and thought this was a great introduction into his fictional world. I actually hope he write more of these genre hybrid books where we get a real history lesson and then into the historical fiction story. I would like them a lot longer though as I just love losing myself in a good book.

Many thanks to the author and publishers for creating this fantastic debut novel in his non-fiction/historical fiction hybrid journey.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog today https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-tale-of-the-tailor-and-three-dead-kings-by-dan-jones-head-of-zeus-4-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

I can’t get into this book.. other books I finished in a week but I just can’t finish this one. Sadly. It doesn’t grab my attention when trying to read.

Fascinating!
Dan Jones has done an amazing job of taking a medieval ghost story and delivering it to a modern audience.
The story itself is engaging and eerie, to say the least. It is beautifully presented, with as little editing done by Jones as possible. This has helped to retain the atmosphere and plot of the original story.
The story itself is accompanied by an extensive historical note, giving the background to Byland Abbey and the monks who wrote the original series of stories that this tale was taken from.
The whole concept makes for a unique and pleasurable reading experience.

This spooky ghost story was to short, and I feel that I need to read it a second time to fully understand and enjoy the tale.

The background information in this book was great but I struggled with the story itself - I don’t think it translates into the 21st century very well. Not one for me I’m afraid.

Discovered in a set of Latin manuscripts dating from the year 1400 by celebrated ghost story writer M. R James in the early 1920s, “The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings” has been adapted in a compelling novelette by Dan Jones.

This was such was an creepy and eerie read. Even though it’s a short read it packs in quite a punch.

A great little gift for anyone looking for the perfect present for the Halloween obsessed or for anyone who likes a spooky read.

If you liked ‘A Christmas Carol’ or ‘Sleepy Hollow’ then this is for you.

The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings’ is a unexpected gem of a chiller, ideal for sitting close to the fire on a cold late autumn night and starting after tea and finishing just before bed.

Liked the background information of this book, but struggled to get into the story itself. Perhaps its shortness was a factor, or maybe I expected too much from a 12th-century tale in comparison to the modern ghost story format. Either way, I was ultimately left feeling disappointed, so it wasn't for me.

The chilling medieval ghost story, The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings retold by Dan Jones, that was only published in 2021. This tale tells of how, one winter, in the dark days of King Richard II, a tailor was riding home on the road from Gilling to Ampleforth. When, out of nowhere, he is knocked off his horse and met by a ghastly apparition that warns of dire consequences if is does not perform a task and repent.

Apparently, this tale was first recorded in the early fifteenth century by an unknown monk, and then was later transcribed from the Latin by the great medievalist M.R. James in 1922. Building on that, bestselling historian Dan Jones version is told in a crisp and creepy prose, that is easily accessible for today’s readers. However it is so short that I don’t think I got a real feel for Jones’ own style and while I enjoyed it, I was left wanting more!

I will update the review with a link to our blog closer to publication date.
I'd like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is in effect a 'short story'. It is derived from an ancient record, the details of which are described before you get to the telling. The actual Latin is included at the end of the book.
It is an interesting enough tale and well written, that is obviously based on events relating to individuals living about the area at the time of the record.
I'm not used to reading short stories and found it strange to finish a book so soon. However it was good enough in its telling. I'm not sure that I would buy it, but others may find it a fun gift.