TITLE: Treasury of Folklore: Seas and Rivers
AUTHOR: Dee Dee Chainey & Willow Winsham
PUBLISHER: Batsford Books
ISBN: 9781849946599
PODCAST EPISODE: N/A
REVIEWER: Joana Varanda
Released in March 2021, this is the second book in what is hoped by this reviewer to be a long-lasting series titled Treasury of Folklore, authored by Dee Dee Chainey and Willow Winsham, with black-and-white illustrations by Joe McLaren, who has also returned for a second time to work with the founders of the popular Twitter hashtag and page #FolkloreThursday in this recent title.
The trio’s preceding publication, A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe, had admittedly been issued a whole two years ago by the National Trust focusing on British folklore alone - contrary to Treasury of Folklore: Seas and Rivers which has a slightly different format inclusive of all world cultures. But as soon as the authors were moved to another imprint of Pavilion through Batsford Books, a succeeding title Treasury of Folklore: Woodlands and Forests was announced for release later this August, therefore implying all of these books can and will be seen as a series, to the delight of contributors and fans of every Thursday’s folklore phenomenon.
For this reviewer, one of the most remarkable things about Chainey and Winsham’s work and storytelling style is certainly their readiness to remind us of evolving views on race, gender roles, and other ethical issues, and how those compare to a collected repository of folk tales, superstitions and world lore that might not have changed along with the times. See for example how the authors concluded their retelling of “The Lady of Stavoren”, which dwells on the unlikely attribution of the responsibility of the collapse of an entire village to a single widowed woman. Mentioning cultures of origin appears to be equally important to the founding mothers of Folklore Thursday, as stated in “The Maid of the Mist”, where it is clear the authors remained mindful of the difference between cultural appropriation and naturally occurring overlaps between cultures that share kindred myths (see “Author’s Note”).
As for the book itself, Treasury of Folklore: Seas and Rivers is, as the title suggests, divided into two main parts: tales pertaining to oceans, and tales relevant to fresh waters, such as rivers and lakes. Each of these two parts is then sub-divided into chapters that cover a panoply of related folklore stories and customs, which can either be quite general (i.e. “Well Folklore”) or more specific (i.e. “The Dolphin of Taranto”). Personally, I would have preferred that the order in which these tales are registered had been organised even further, since it frequently alternates between, for instance, geographical locations and specific creatures, without a more visually clear separation.
Another strength of this book however, is its extreme carefulness in including references for further reading, not only to support the historical accuracy of sources, but also to stimulate readers to delve deeper into their favourite themes, as it evidently remains impossible for one single book to contain all the folklore and superstitions of the entire World.
In conclusion, even though the authors are now taken under the wing of Batsford Books, Treasury of Folklore: Seas and Rivers thankfully remained the same size and feel of its predecessor - and hopefully, its successor as well - prompting folklore enthusiasts to collect all titles and treasure them as a great way of being introduced to a bit of folklore from all over the world. They also look great in a bookshelf!
AUTHOR: Dee Dee Chainey & Willow Winsham
PUBLISHER: Batsford Books
ISBN: 9781849946599
PODCAST EPISODE: N/A
REVIEWER: Joana Varanda
Released in March 2021, this is the second book in what is hoped by this reviewer to be a long-lasting series titled Treasury of Folklore, authored by Dee Dee Chainey and Willow Winsham, with black-and-white illustrations by Joe McLaren, who has also returned for a second time to work with the founders of the popular Twitter hashtag and page #FolkloreThursday in this recent title.
The trio’s preceding publication, A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe, had admittedly been issued a whole two years ago by the National Trust focusing on British folklore alone - contrary to Treasury of Folklore: Seas and Rivers which has a slightly different format inclusive of all world cultures. But as soon as the authors were moved to another imprint of Pavilion through Batsford Books, a succeeding title Treasury of Folklore: Woodlands and Forests was announced for release later this August, therefore implying all of these books can and will be seen as a series, to the delight of contributors and fans of every Thursday’s folklore phenomenon.
For this reviewer, one of the most remarkable things about Chainey and Winsham’s work and storytelling style is certainly their readiness to remind us of evolving views on race, gender roles, and other ethical issues, and how those compare to a collected repository of folk tales, superstitions and world lore that might not have changed along with the times. See for example how the authors concluded their retelling of “The Lady of Stavoren”, which dwells on the unlikely attribution of the responsibility of the collapse of an entire village to a single widowed woman. Mentioning cultures of origin appears to be equally important to the founding mothers of Folklore Thursday, as stated in “The Maid of the Mist”, where it is clear the authors remained mindful of the difference between cultural appropriation and naturally occurring overlaps between cultures that share kindred myths (see “Author’s Note”).
As for the book itself, Treasury of Folklore: Seas and Rivers is, as the title suggests, divided into two main parts: tales pertaining to oceans, and tales relevant to fresh waters, such as rivers and lakes. Each of these two parts is then sub-divided into chapters that cover a panoply of related folklore stories and customs, which can either be quite general (i.e. “Well Folklore”) or more specific (i.e. “The Dolphin of Taranto”). Personally, I would have preferred that the order in which these tales are registered had been organised even further, since it frequently alternates between, for instance, geographical locations and specific creatures, without a more visually clear separation.
Another strength of this book however, is its extreme carefulness in including references for further reading, not only to support the historical accuracy of sources, but also to stimulate readers to delve deeper into their favourite themes, as it evidently remains impossible for one single book to contain all the folklore and superstitions of the entire World.
In conclusion, even though the authors are now taken under the wing of Batsford Books, Treasury of Folklore: Seas and Rivers thankfully remained the same size and feel of its predecessor - and hopefully, its successor as well - prompting folklore enthusiasts to collect all titles and treasure them as a great way of being introduced to a bit of folklore from all over the world. They also look great in a bookshelf!