Published By: Ebury Spotlight
Pages: 304
Released On: 29/10/2026
Tim brings to life the mystical stories that shape the character of our isles. Push through the bramble and briar to embark on a journey through the seasons, encountering wonders from clowns to coffins, horn dances to blazing tar barrels, punkies to soulcakers.
Filled with detailed insights into hidden mythic sites and stories from the incredible people that keep our folklore fires burning year after year, this book is an invitation to step outside and reconnect with the ebb and flow of the natural world.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Ebury Spotlight to the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
Oh there are so many chapters. Split into seasons, there’s about 35 chapters overall, making them relatively short, and I prefer a short chapter. I know it’s non-fiction rather than a novel so it doesn’t necessarily need as perfect a pace than a story might need, but it did make it easier and quicker to read and added to the excitement that some non-fiction books can miss.
It’s about storytelling, the storytelling that nature brings us, and he’s weaved that into a story of his own and it was a pleasure to read.
I am not sure who the illustrator was but there are a handful of illustrations that are simply but lovely.
As a cold weather gremlin, I did prefer the sections about winter and autumn, because the descriptions of bad weather and cold and rain and snow etc. just filled me with joy. I don’t get the same feelings when reading about hot weather. And I don’t know why, but I feel that the very idea of rituals lends itself to winter.
I am in two minds about something and I’m aware it’s going to sound off, it does to me too. He’s written the history of these rituals through his discover of them when he’s been travelling around the country. Now this makes sense, you’re seeking them out and giving a first-hand account of them etc. and I’m not sure you’d get that same intimacy if you were stuck in an office. Having said that, I was less interested in how he approached these rituals and more interested in the actual history of them and I felt at times that balance was a bit off.
I believe this is his debut and it’s a good one. Some bits I enjoyed more than others, which is usually the case when a non-fiction focusses on more than one thing, but overall I found it interesting and a joy to read.
