Household Lore - by Liza Frank (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A perfect gift, this fun illustrated book will take you room by room to discover global traditions, remedies, folklore and rituals hiding in your house.

Uncover the folklore and rituals hiding in your own home.

Did you know that planting holly may deter lightning strikes, evil spirits might be spooked by a hot cross bun, and gifting soap can end a friendship? Open this book for a tour around the traditions that lurk under the stairs, inside the cracks and behind every cobweb in our homes.

In every culture, folklore is passed down the generations, helping us protect our sacred spaces, and offering advice should we knock a fork off the table or yearn to dabble in some doorway divination. With each chapter dedicated to a different room, learn how to navigate your home with harmony:

• Discover how your roof can predict the future and what to do should a witch land on it.
• Tiptoe into the bedroom and uncover what the ancients had to say about aphrodisiacs and how to escape supernatural interference while asleep.
• Sit down in the dining room and lift the lid on unsavoury indigestion remedies and old-wife-approved hangover cures.

From the rafters to the cellar steps, from the garden path to the kitchen cupboard - your home is chock-full of folklore waiting to be revealed.

Review Quotes

"Household Lore is a delightful exploration of the folklore hidden in your home. Entertaining and charming, it is a rich cornucopia of useful information that will lead you down wonderful rabbit holes from how to handle a cough (slices of garlic in your shoes), to dealing with a snoring partner (pop a lemon under their pillow). Try any of these at your own risk, but do try the book, which can be lightly snacked upon or hungrily devoured. Either way, Liza's writing is always nourishing soul food."
- Jenifer Toksvig, author and playwright

"Household Lore is a delight to read. It should be the family bible for all supernaturally synched folk!"
- Johnny Mains, editor and author

"Although the book is wry and written with a sparkly, affectionate sense of humour, the wisdom shines brightly and the stories serve to make household chores a lot more interesting."
- The Green Parent Magazine

"Full of fascinating folklore, curious customs and traditional tales, this is a masterly anthology of our rituals and lore relating to the sacred space of our own homes."
- Mark Norman, Creator of the Folklore Podcast and Founder of the Folklore Library and Archive

"A magical little book, both beautiful and fascinating, I loved it!"
- Eleanor Morton, Writer and Comedian

About the Author

Liza Frank is a have-a-go folklorist and author. She has written extensively about myth and folklore and spent a year living by the rules of folklore for The Everyday Lore Project. Her first book, My Celebrity Boyfriend published in 2007, her second, Everyday Folklore: An Almanac for the Ritual Year in 2023.