An illustrated history of the mythology of the British Isles, this book features beautiful linocut and wood engraved prints. Each chapter is dedicated to a different myth, with additional background and commentary from Jeffs after each story.

Each myth is infused with old world magic, wild landscapes, fog and dragons. Some purists may not be enthused with modernized language Jeffs uses while retelling these stories, but it you are looking for an art book to flip through with a cozy cup of tea, this might be it.

Such an interesting concept and beautifully told.

Definitely worth a look if you have any sort of interest in mythology and want to broaden your horizon.

Loved the retelling and was surprised by how much I learned. Will recommend to short story lovers and mythology lovers.

This lovely book features an array of myths and legends of Britain. Each story is followed by a commentary by the author, who is a historian specializing in the Middle Ages. Her essays often include historical context or alternative storylines. Several of the stories are tied to geographical locations which the author has visited and describes in detail. I liked this technique because it helped literally ground the stories in the real world.

A few of my favorite stories included the giants who carry the Stonehenge rocks from Africa to Ireland, the red and white dragons, Havelok the Dane, Cordelia (which inspired Shakespeare’s King Lear), and most of the Merlin tales.

The book also includes many linocut illustrations created by the author herself. They are beautiful and definitely added to my experience of the individual stories they accompanied.

Myths and folklore has always been a passion of mine, and I was delighted to discover this collection of English myths.

Some of these stories were already familiar to me, like the Arthurian ones. Others were brand new. I really believe that this book would be served best in an audio format. The stories were brief and straight to the point, and they had the feel of oral traditions. I'd really like to revisit this text with a narrator. Although, the woodcut illustrations were a gorgeous and striking addition to the stories and would be lost in an audio medium.

Some of the stories were accompanied by personal recollections of Jeff's travels to the locations of some of the myths which, while interesting, were a departure from the point of the rest of the book. It felt like she wanted to write about the historical context of the stories, a personal travel memoir, and her own interpretations of the myths. All would have been fascinating to read, but it seems like in trying to do so much, she didn't give the time everything deserved.

I am especially interested in her "Further Reading" list at the end of the book, as I would love being able to read her sources for the stories she picked for this collection.

Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this ARC.

CW: The stories Weland the Smith and Antiquity include brief depictions of rape.

DNF 20%

Unfortunately, it was not the book I was hoping for.
Even though the author clearly knows her way around British folklore and history, this is a book that tries to accomplish both with unsatisfactory results.
The retelling of the stories is loosely adapted by Amy Jeffs, which is not what I was expecting nor looking for. Also, not a fan of her style.
The contextualization of the stories in a historical set was surprising but welcome, if it did more than just scrape the surface.
It's not a bad book per se, and I'm sure it will appeal to some fans of mythology and history, although I'm one of them, and unfortunately, it failed with me.

The art is lovely, and it's a very informative book. I found the style a bit drier than anticipated, and I struggled a bit with connecting with the stories. I think this would be a fantastic classroom tool, but my personal reading experience was somewhat lackluster.

I enjoyed reading this as an introduction to or one author's take on a collection of myths related to Britain--but found several of the stories included too sensual for my taste, and the writing was rather underwhelming--no magic to it.

The art was interesting; some I liked more than others. The effort put into it, and overall method, particularly stood out to me.

I especially appreciated the author's commentary around places she had visited; the notes on the Arthurian legend, especially; and further-reading section. Being a big fan of Arthurian legend, mythology, and the Inklings, I found these most relevant to my own interests.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

'Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain' takes the reader through the early history of Britain through the eyes of myth and weaves the two together. Jeffs knows her subject well, has done her research, and has woven stories that are engaging and accessible (not dry or too academic for the casual reader.) Lovers of myth, folklore and history will enjoy this collection and the accompanying linocuts are beautiful.
Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Andrews McMeel for an advance copy of this illustrated tome on English mythology and legends.

Britain has more stories probably per acre than anywhere else on Earth. England probably has just as many origin stories as the most misunderstood character in Marvel or DC comics. Giants, survivors from Troy, rebels from Syria, the North, the East, from under the Earth. Legends merge and create even greater stories. Add in religion, and suddenly even those stories change. This giant was killed by sword, no by cross. And a lot of stories about dragons. Myths are what makes a people, gives them something to remember and to dream about. I am sure in the time of Brexit, people looked to any mounds and wished that King Arthur would return in the time of England's greatest need and smote a few idiots. Myths need to be retold, to be dusted off for new generations to show where a people came from and how they have come so far. Wonderful illustrations are also a plus. Storyland:A New Mythology of Britain by historian and printmaker Dr. Amy Jeffs is a new way of looking at the lore of Britain, how important they are, and what they look like, and even more reflect today.

The book begins with a introduction to where the ideas for the book came from, and the work on the illustrations, and why they are woodcuts. From there we start at a time when giants strode the earth, bringing stones from Africa to Ireland by swimming far away from the coasts. These giants settled in different areas, and soon were met by other visitors. Refugees from Troy, a large group of survivors preceded by rebels from Syria battled with the Picts and soon began setting up tracts of land that were under their rule, killing or throwing the giants tha remained into the sea. Readers learn of captured jewelers who set out elaborate plans to get back at their captors. Or twin dragons who lay under a tower, bringing parts of it down every night. Knights tired of killing, leaving their wifes and dying after one great fight. Uther, Merlin, Arthur and his knights with a sword in a stone.

The book features different myths, with a section following about how the story has changed, sources, and what the area it took place in looks like today. I have always loved books on folklore and myths since reading Editih Hamilton as a boy. This is one of the best written most interesting collections that I have read in awhile. The writing is very good, the way the book is set up is well done, as are the illustrations that accompany the stories. Jeffs is very good at making these stories seem not only real but important. Some might say who cares about dragons, or Queens who kill stepsons, but all these stories still speak to us about emotions, fears, ethics and being human. Jeffs doesn't exploit the events that make up some of these myths, relates them and shows what other ideas might have come from them. A very good collection, and impressive for a book that was a debut.

Readers of myths and magical stories aren't the only audience for this collection. Writers will find plenty of great ideas for novels, or characters in their works. Roleplayers can find inspiration for adventures and comic readers will look at a lot of these stories and have many, hey wait a minute that's from moments. I look forward to reading Dr. Jeffs does next.

I honestly expected more for such a hyped book. The myths themselves were fascinating - my favorite story was Weland the Smith. The illustrations were also cool. However, I didn't really like the ends of the chapters where the author talked about her experiences with each story and a tiny bit of historical concept. Overall, I'm not sure a book is the best format for this information. I think it would make an awesome immersive art installation, though.

Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain was an entertaining read that took the reader through the early history of Britain via a series of sequential myths. I enjoyed how each tale was followed by a brief commentary outlining its origins and the author's thoughts. Most of the stories I was already familiar with, but a couple were new to me, and I think this is a book that will appeal to lovers of folklore and myth as it is a delightful collection told in an engaging manner. It gets four stars from me.

First things first, the linocuts are absolutely STUNNING. The book is worth perusing for those alone.

As for the retellings, while reading I discovered I'm not the right audience for this kind of book because it annoyed me that I couldn't distinguish between the source material and Jeffs's additions. I guess I'm too academic-oriented to be able to enjoy it. That put aside, some chapters I liked a lot, and some left me cold, mainly due to the style. I loved those who went for an unexpected narrator/point of view, for example, "Elfrida and Edward the Martyr" or "The King, the Dog, and the Boar".

I loved the commentary following each retelling, telling you about the source(s) so you could follow up if you want to know more.

I read the book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an idiosyncratic and rather fast and loose retelling of a great range of tales and myths. The author is a congenial companion, and the text is interesting enough to be worth a look.

Storyland is a fascinating narrative take on history and legend. I loved the use of images, and the writer's voice was clear and included loads of captivating details.

Modern retellings of myths seem to me to have two good options of how to proceed: either preserve the vibe of being a oral tradition (see Gaiman's Norse Mythology) or apply a modern form and views (see Miller's Circe). Both can be excellent. This book kinda tries to do both, and I don't think I'm particularly impressed with either.

Each chapter is made up of a retelling of a myth and then some notes on the source; the former uses the sort of prose that feels like it's meant to feel like an oral telling, and the latter uses somewhat academic prose. The latter stuff is fine, if not particularly deep analysis or surprising information, and I questioned sometimes the degree of certainty with which some things are said. However, I don't feel like retellings feel enough like they're be told to me around a campfire, and they certainly don't feel like they are the sort of thing that I could find in a modern work of literary fiction. There is sexual violence aplenty, as would be expected of the source material, and I continued to be surprised that Jeffs doesn't really interact with that at all.

The stories themselves are fine. They're short enough that they're not going to have emotional arcs, which can make them feel less interesting, and some of them are so short (sometimes only two pages) as to be effectively without plot and deeply frustrating. I found myself pushing through them out of an underlying interest in the myths themselves as I have wanted to know more about Britain's mythic history, and this has proved a convenient way to get an overview of the subject, but I can't imagine this book interesting someone who wasn't like that.

Overall, though, the thing that made it hardest to push through this was the lack of connection between the tales themselves. This is not a single mythic cycle and so characters do not really recur (apart from a few myths from the Arthurian cycle, though mostly the characters that recur there are Uther and Merlin), so it falls to the analysis. There we get even less. We have the occasional note about Jeffs's travels in her research, but it's not a Bryson-esque travelogue or a personal journey that makes her a protagonist, and there's no real overarching thematic argument about, well, anything. What I was left with was something that seemed to try several things, and apart from some lovely art, deliver on none of them.

What a book! Just incredible. Listen mythology aficionados, read this book. Then read it again. And then read it again. And then keep reading it as if it is your bible. Best book on mythology I have read in a long while now. Amazing!

It is deep, insightful , vivid and unputdownable. It was fascinating to read about myths and history. There is a thing about mythology, one is never certain about the degree of truth it holds but if it’s written well, it certainly grips the readers. It is the re-imagination of medieval tales crafted so brilliantly. Read the poignant tales of people, ancient lands, magic, power, ritual, prophecy, homeland, exile, love, betrayal, fall and rise of Christianity, love and loss, odyssey of freedom and founding it all again.

I loved the author’s writing. It’s deep, descriptive and compelling. Would definitely like to read more of the author’s works. I also liked reading this well researched and insightful book. Thank you NetGalley, Author and Publishers for providing the book.

I really enjoyed this book! I read all kinds of mythology books so I was excited to read this one next. This is one of those books where you cannot put it down! Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ebook ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy! I loved this one! It was incredible! My favourite was the one with King Arthur and Merlin, but all the other stories were wonderful as well!