Wild Folk: Tales from the Stones

(Hardback)

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Description

Wild Folk comprises seven richly illustrated fables of transformation and power, summoned from the ancient stones beneath our feet and transformed by word and image into portals between past and future.

These tales from the stones are neither new nor old. They are full of 'wild folk', shape-shifting spirits that carry the energy that connects all things. You will meet selkies and silver trout and the black fox, as big as a wolf and so fast and cunning she drives the lord of the manor to madness and oblivion; the woman of flowers who is happier living as an owl; the boy who learns to feel the songs and stories of trees through his skin; Wayland, the smith who can hammer metal to such airy thinness he makes his own wings; and the great white raven, a bird so rare it awakens the king who sleeps beneath the stones of the wild west cliffs of Wales.

This book brings together the words of Jackie Morris and the stained-glass paintings of Tamsin Abbott, but the stories come from both, a true collaboration born out of friendship and hope. These are tales to make you see, listen and most of all feel the wild magic that links stone, tree, fox and star.

Reviews

'Jackie Morris and Tamsin Abbott are spell-makers. These are sonorous tales, iridescent with enchantment and power. Stories of transformation, loss and defiance, exploring that much-forgotten border between the natural and supernatural worlds. The illustrations, made on glass, are luminous, remarkable things' Kerry Andrew, author of We Are Together Because

'Wild Folk is a wondrous weaving of story and image, glass and ink, dream and song, created together by two makers at the height of their huge powers, who also happen to be dear friends with one another. Born of love and collaboration, the art here holds light that spills and fills, and spaces in which to breathe and swim' Robert Macfarlane, author of Is a River Alive

'A glorious and unforgettable book told masterfully through the perfect combination of words and images. Exquisitely beautiful, it will sing to your very soul' Liz Hyder, author of The Twelve

Author Bio

Jackie Morris is an author and illustrator. She lives in a small house beside the sea in Wales, with cats and dogs for company. The Lost Words, co-authored with Robert Macfarlane won the Kate Greenaway Medal 2019. In the same year she published The Unwinding with Unbound. In 2022 they released Jackie's first book of poetry Feather, Leaf, Bark & Stone and earlier this year Fox and Otter appeared - the start of an exciting new series of fold-out Accordion Books.

Tamsin Abbott has been creating painted stained glass panels from her Herefordshire home for over twenty years. Her work is inspired by the British landscape, folklore and fairytale. She is a member of the British Society of Master Glass Painters and has exhibited with them as well the Museum of British Folklore, the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, and many other UK galleries. Wild Folk is her first book as a stained glass illustrator.