Folktales are a delight, in whatever shape they come, either as legends, scraps of tales, or full on fairy tales. Meanwhile England is known for its literary history, its Chaucer's, Shakespeare's, Milton's, and more. But how goes it with folktales in England? Well, Neil Philip is here with a new edition of this stunning collection! Thanks to Watkins Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My sincere apologies for the delay in reviewing.

The Watkins Book of English Folktales is a delightful collection of folktales, but what attracted me most was the promise of source notes and a full introduction. I've been obsessed with how folk tales work for years, as it reminds me so much of how fluid and flexible medieval literature is. In his introduction, Neil Philip traces the history of folklorists, of how stories were noted down, and how the way they are approached now has changed. I also appreciated the "updated intro" for this edition, in which Philip revises some of his opinions or expands upon some points. I found a lot of very interesting things in this Introduction and it definitely set me up well for reading the stories themselves. The notes which accompany the stories are also interesting, either by offering other tellings, information on how it was noted down, and more. For me, the value of this collection truly lies in Philip's instrument around it and it is a definite resource for those interested in storytelling.

There are countless tales in this collection, some of which are familiar, some of which sounds like something you might have heard, and some completely new. 'The Witch Wife' is one of my favourite tales, dated to the 1920s, in which a man marries a witch without suspecting it. She takes him along on a midnight jaunt and he learns a lesson about listening to his wife. I also enjoyed 'The Green Lady', a story of the folktale-type to which 'Frau Holle' also belongs, I think. A story I wish I could have understood was 'The Flyin' Childer', which sounds amazingly gory and gruesome. It has been transmitted in a Lincolnshire accent, however, and I struggled getting through it. However, that is part of the joy of The Watkins Book of English Folktales, that it truly reflects different regions of England. This is not the kind of collection you can sit down with and finish, in the sense that there is just too much there. It is much more fun to dip into it by seeing what strikes your fancy in the Index. The stories are a great mix between different kind of tales which either have a moral or are just short and dirty and fun. There is truly something for everyone in The Watkins Book and it is only made better by the supportive structure of the notes.

The Watkins Book of English Folktales does exactly what it says it'll do. It's a collection of delightful tales, supported by a strong Introduction and important notes which will allow readers to contextualise these tales.

This is not something I would usually read but sometimes I like going out of my comfort zone. I am so glad I gave this one a shot because I very much enjoyed the stories.
This is a must read and must add to collections .

I have already recommended this book to a few friends .

Solid 4 Stars:
Anyone who enjoys tales and stories will enjoy this collection. While some of them may not be in everyone's taste and to their liking it is a nice array nonetheless. I plan on purchasing a physical copy of the book for my collection. This book gives for a pleasant source of entertainment and can be read anytime of the year.

If you enjoy little tales you could read all at once or once a day this book would suit you well.

I won't review the format of this addition I received since it was in fact an advance copy and the printed one is cleaned up.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Watkins Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book!
This is a very good collection, perfect for people who not only love to read folktales but also would like to know more details about them. It contains known stories, which we all grew up with, as well as lesser known ones. It was also very interesting to get to know about those stories from a philological point of view, since it's a field that's related to my studies.

I really enjoyed reading these tales from English Folklore. It's quite unusual to come across a book about English Folktales (rather than Celtic or Nordic) so I was intrigued to learn more. I was fully engaged from the foreword, I hadn't realised that Neil Gaiman had written the foreword but it was obvious as soon as I started reading it. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story!

A delicious presentation of a mammoth undertaking – and yet one I can only really give four stars to. This is definitely a marvellous collection of English folktales – but I felt it failed in small ways to deliver the perfect book I wanted; and while I know what I wanted of it – being a spoken word storyteller, as opposed to an academic, a folklorist, or a know-all of fairy-tales – is not universal, I don't think this hits the mark for everyone.

Don't get me wrong, for this is a superlative undertaking, with English variants on Cinderella, and on this and that (the three little pigs didn't just get their houses blown down, you know), and even a couple of bits of Dickens, but it almost managed to frustrate. Only some times did I give up trying to parse the rural, rustic vernacular of the regional dialects some of this was presented in, but I know people do take against there being no Queen's English variant of some of these stories, and I can see their point. Also, the book seems to crest a wave at the halfway mark and crash down into a lot of flippant, anecdotal trips to the regions, and jokes and japes, as opposed to what we might really think of as a folktale. Can a folktale be both fifteen pages long and less than fifteen lines? Discuss.

This is still almost bonkers in its erudition, from copious prior compilations being sources to even something referred to in a tabloid newspaper at one point. But did it bring us everything? No – my local region's Black Annis never showed up, and there were gaps as well as flaws and niggles. Did I have a crushing impression the compiler knew his stuff, and that I was holding a wonderful hardback? Yes. Did I have my life altered at such an achievement? No. Did I nick anything to include in my next setlist? That would be telling. Either way, this is very much an impressive book, and perhaps one I should be more forgiving with, but flaws is flaws.

Folk tales are so important for an historical understanding of the literary background of any culture. We are more concerned with video games and social media, unaware of the underpinnings of folk knowledge that they both hold. This book is a good reference for classrooms as well as home libraries.

I was also sent this as a hard copy and it is stunning! Both the stories and the actual book.
This is a gorgeous collection of English Folktales, and while I thought I’d know more of them I was pleasantly surprised by the range of tales inside.
Highly recommend

A nice little collection of fairy tales and folktales. This was a very solid collection of some lesser known tales. I'm an avid fairy tale and folktale connoisseur, but I had never heard of most of these. There's a good mix of fairy tales, legends, humorous folk tales, and ghost stories.

One thing to be aware of is that some of the stories are kept in the local dialect of the source of the story (i.e. the person from whom the story was collected), and some of these dialects were really difficult for me to understand and follow. Most of the stories aren't written like this, but I found myself skimming the ones that were.

With a foreword by Neil Gaiman, this comprehensive, entertaining and authentic collection of English folktales is perfect for fans of Madeline Miller, Philip Pullman and the Brothers Grimm.
Amazing collection ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An amazing collection of folktales and fairytales. I was excited by the great variety of stories, perfect for imagination lovers.

DNF- This was not at all what I was hoping for or expecting. I feel this sort of book is only going to appeal to a very select group, when it probably could have been written in a way that would appeal to most people, but also be educational.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion.

As those of you who visit me often might already know, I have a thing for folktales and fairytales and myths and legends and such! So of course, this book called out to me and said “read me!” Then, there was that little detail of ‘foreword by Neil Gaiman.’ Another reason to get it. And I am so glad I am reading it (in the sense that I did read a part of it, but this is a book to be savored and read in bits and pieces.)

There is so much to love about this book. The research behind it, the annotations and anecdotes accompanying each story, the footnotes and history of folktales themselves, as well as the brilliant selection of tales within – all of these make it a great read. From the foreword and the author’s note as well as the introduction to the further reading section, and the familiar as well as the unknown tales within, this book is sure to have something for everyone. (Note for those handing it to younger kids: some of the tales might not work for young audiences for various reasons, so please read them first)

Disclaimer: I got a digital review copy of this book from Netgalley and these are my honest opinions of the book.

This book is an extensive collection of English folktales, with 369 annotated stories included. Each story begins with an introduction that provides a discussion of variants, source (from folklore), tale type and narrator (with date and location). Stories are from the 19th to early 20th century and include many of the “Jack Tales.” Text contains original dialects. Annotations are provided along with further readings. It is an essential find for folklorists, storytellers and anyone who loves old tales. The book is an updated edition.

A great anthology of English Foktales, some new other well known. They're commended and it's a fascinating book.
I loved the cover
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This collection of English folktales is beautifully presented with added commentary on each of the stories including their origin in oral traditions. Many are familiar eg Jack and the beanstalk, or are variations on well known fairy tales eg The small tooth dog is a version of Beauty and the beast.
A very enjoyable collection for someone like me interested in folk and fairytales.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I admit that I haven't finished this one yet, but that's because it's very in depth and more academic than my usual reads. In some ways, it's more like a textbook. That means that there are times when its quite dry, but that doesn't mean it's bad. I am enjoying the history and background of these tales but it does make for slow reading.

Who doesn't love a fairytale? I have read fairytales since I was a child and read them to my child. This book encompasses a large amount of fairytales in their original forms. Some I had never read before. The historical analysis of the tales added depth to the fairytals and put the tales into perspective. I really enjoyed reading this.
Thanks to Netgalley,for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

This was an interesting read. I read it over 2 days. I enjoyed reading it and learning about various folktales that were new to me. It was funny finding out that Jack was a very popular name in folktales. There were plenty of well known stories which I knew and loved and also hoe they were changed slightly over time. I really loved reading the first half of this book as these were the stories I had know the most and it was great learning about its origins. I thought it was very interesting reading the authors introduction and history of each story they really were fascinating to know. I learnt quite a bit from reading this book which was brilliant. The second half of the book didn't grab me so much im sure it was because I hadn't heard of most of the stories and some has hard fot me to read as some use old English words. You know the ones missing most of the letters. I'm sure that if you know alots or folktales or want to learn about folktales that you might find this book very interesting. If I rate it 3 stars I always recommend reading a sample of the story to see If it is a perfect fit for you. Remember I am just one person and my average rating could be your 5 star rating. This book was wrote well and it flowed very well from one book to the next.

Many thanks to the author and publishers for putting together this great collection of English folktales. 
The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog yesterday https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-watkins-book-of-english-folktales-by-neil-philip-watkins-publishing-3-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

No matter what age you are you have to love a good fairytale and me being just a child at heart love them all.

This is such a great book of tales, fantasy, myths and legends, This is the book of my dreams and I really enjoyed it. It is a book that will take you not on just one journey but on many. I brings back childhood memories but I must say really is a book for adults.

It is also a bit of history about the folklores and fairytales which I found rather interesting. It is not a book that I sat down and read in one sitting and I must say I read it off and on over a few weeks. But that isn't a bad thing as I love having a book I can pick up and put down without losing my way.

A wonderful book for lovers of folklore and fairytales.