Wild Folk [North American Edition] - by Jackie Morris (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From a unique collaboration between the co-author of The Lost Words and The Lost Spells and an acclaimed visual artist comes 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.

Review Quotes

'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

'A magically beautiful work of creative re-membering (and) re-ensoulment...Singing to the marrow of our bones, this is how the old gods rise. It's glorious. Read it and live.' Manda Scott, author of Any Human Power

'It is going to be a treasure...a legacy book. Timeless, precious, something to be gifted and kept for generations.' Kate Humble, broadcaster and author

'A book of true wonder tales, in which the old is made new and the new is made timeless. Its pages shine with wildness, each glass picture a portal to those dream worlds that crackle and shimmer within and around us.' Zoe Gilbert, author of Folk and Mischief Acts

About the Author

Jackie Morris is an author and illustrator. She studied illustration at Hereford College of Art and Bath Academy and has illustrated many books, and written some. The Lost Words, co-authored with Robert Macfarlane, won the Kate Greenaway Medal 2019.

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. Her pursuit of rural life began at Stirling University, where she studied Medieval Literature. Wild Folk is her first book as a stained-glass illustrator.