Gossip from the forest the tangled roots of our forests and fairytales
Fairytales are one of our earliest and most vital cultural forms, and forests one of our most ancient and primal landscapes. Both evoke a similar sensation in us - we find them beautiful and magical, but also spooky, sometimes horrifying. In this fascinating book, Maitland argues that the two forms...
| Main Author: | Maitland, Sara, 1950- (Author) |
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| Other Authors: | Lee, Adam (Illustrator) |
| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London :
Granta,
2013.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: |
Fairytales are one of our earliest and most vital cultural forms, and forests one of our most ancient and primal landscapes. Both evoke a similar sensation in us - we find them beautiful and magical, but also spooky, sometimes horrifying. In this fascinating book, Maitland argues that the two forms are intimately connected: the mysterious secrets and silences, gifts and perils of the forests were both the background and the source of fairytales. Yet both forests and fairy stories are at risk and their loss deprives us of our cultural lifeblood. Maitland visits forests through the seasons, from the exquisite green of a beechwood in spring, to the muffled stillness of a snowy pine wood in winter. She camps with her son Adam, whose beautiful photographs are included in the book; she takes a barefoot walk through Epping Forest with Robert Macfarlane; she walks with a mushroom expert through an oak wood, and with a miner through the Forest of Dean. Maitland ends each chapter with a unique, imaginitive re-telling of a fairystory. Written with Sara's wonderful clarity and conversational grace, Gossip from the Forest is a magical and unique blend of nature writing, history and imaginative fiction. |
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| Item Description: |
Originally published: 2012. |
| Physical Description: |
354 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 20 cm |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| ISBN: |
9781847084309 1847084303 |
| Author Notes: |
Before Maitland made her living as a writer, she was once an academic researcher, an interior decorator, and a dressmaker. Maitland has contributes essays and reviews to mainstream and scholarly publication, and has written or edited over 20 books including "Virtuous Magic: Women Saints and Their Meaning," "A Big Enough God: A Feminist's Search for a Joyful Theology," and "Angel Maker: The Short Stories of Sara Maitland." (Bowker Author Biography) |