West Yorkshire Folk Tales (John Billingsley, History Press, 2010, 190pp ISBN 9780752452920)

This is one of a series of books covering various regions and areas which History Press have begun publishing – others include Cornwall and Derbyshire so far, with more promised.

The stories in the book are pulled from all over West Yorkshire, and include a combination of classics (various Yorkshire-based Robin Hood stories, the Bradford Boar, and a good collection covering witches, boggarts and the devil) and modern stories – most notably the authors chilling story of meeting the wild hunt at Cragg Vale near Mytholmroyd. There’s also possibly the best discussion I’ve read for a long time about the Cottingley Fairies – presented less as a story, and more as an essay, but no less interesting for that. It’s well researched, and very well written.

As a collection of stories, it’s extremely readable – well written or adapted, and varied enough to keep even the most jaded reader happy throughout. However, if you want to tell the stories, or use them with a group – of children, for example – then you’ll need to do a bit more work. With a few exceptions (notably the Bradford Boar story), they are told in quite a conversational way, which doesn’t translate well to directly reading out loud – although it’s easy to use the book as a source, and produce your own version of any of the stories. To help with this, there is an invaluable afterword with information on sources and references.

The book, as with the others in the series, has a quality feel – it’s also well put together, which for a book which will be read as much as this is a bonus! All the books in the series have a uniform look and feel, which means that collectors – and if you are at all interested in British folk tales, you’ll want to collect the whole set as they come out – will end up with something that both looks good on a shelf, and is eminently usable – both for reading for enjoyment, and as reference material for developing stories. Peppered throughout the book are pictures drawn specifically for this volume by local artist Stan McCarthy, and these add to the overall look.

Overall, I was very impressed by West Yorkshire Folk Tales. It should be regarded as a definite ‘must buy’ for anyone even slightly interested in the stories of Yorkshire, and hopefully a second volume will arrive soon!

This review was originally printed in Facts and Fiction magazine, November 2010.