With the success of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings books and movies, magic lands are all of a sudden very popular.  So it is interesting to look at where so many of the modern versions began.  The Magic Lands does this brilliantly.

Kevin Crossley-Holland is a leading author of folk and fantasy stories and heroic legends, but he is also a collector and student of Britain's rich and varied culture and folklore.  He has put together a delightful collection of tales, fables and poems from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, some short, some longer, all of them entertaining.

There are familiar faces - King Arthur tales, Jack and the Beanstalk, Tom Thumb, Dick Whittington - but also many other quirky little stories that pop up fascinating details.

The widow's daughter beating the Devil at a riddling contest makes you think "Of course! Bilbo and Gollum."  There are loyal daughters and crafty step-mothers to swing you from Cinderella to King Lear.  There is even a mule that has to be the model for the donkey in the Shrek movies!

All the ghosts and goblins, faeries and fools of traditional folk stories tumble out of the pages in story after story.  Crossley-Holland does not try to make them great cultural icons, or cheapen them as cartoons – the two modern fates of so many folk stories.  He presents them as entertaining tales, some funny, some scary, some moral, some a bit dark.  All of them are equally enjoyable by children and adults.

This is an excellent introduction to the folklore that has given us so many details of our literature and culture.  It is respectful enough of the traditions to be a good reference and well written enough to be a most entertaining read.

Other books by this author:
Arthur: the Seeing Stone (Orion, 2000)
Arthur: at the Crossing Places (Orion, 2001)
Arthur: King of the Middle March (Orion, 2003)

Review by David Beagley

© 2002 David Beagley