A ballad is a song that tells a story and many traditional British ballads contain fascinating stories – tales of love and jealousy, murder and mystery, the supernatural and the historical. This anthology brings together nineteen original retellings in short story form, written by some of the country’s most accomplished storytellers, singers and wordsmiths. Here you will find tales of cross-dressing heroines, lusty pirates, vengeful fairy queens, mobsters and monsters, mermaids and starmen – stories that dance with the form and flavour of these narrative folksongs in daring and delightful ways. Richly illustrated, these enchanting tales will appeal to lovers of folk music, storytelling and rattling yarns.
In conjunction with the forthcoming publication of Ballad Tales we have obtained an extract which you can read below!
Edited by Kevan Manwaring Ballad Tales will be published on the 8th June via the History Press. A free launch event including a lively showcase of storytelling and song from a selection of contributors including Kevan Manwaring, Chantelle Smith, Anthony Nanson, Kirsty Hartsiotis, Nimue Brown, Fiona Eadie, David Metcalfe, Chrissy Derbyshire, Karola Renard, Mark Hassall and Laura Kinnear will take place at the British School (opposite the Star Anise Arts Cafe) on Friday 9th June at 7pm.