An extraordinarily multidimensional work, moving seamlessly from creative retellings of the stories to explanations of the texts and where they came from, underpinned all the time by sound academic understanding. They blend reflections of travels through fen, forest and cave, with retelling of medieval texts that offer rich depictions of the natural world, from the Old English elegies, the Welsh Englynion, the Norse poetic Edda - stories that largely represent figures whose voices are not generally heard in the corpus of medieval literature: women, outcasts, animals. This book is like a murmuration of starlings, perhaps - “wayless” in flight patterns governed by little rhyme or reason that most could discern - a conglomeration of voices of the past from the Exeter Book and other medieval sources, coming together to create something new and beautiful.

The mix of modern iterations, translated originals and modern commentary providing a smooth and engaging link betwixt past and present.

Sheer cliffs, salt spray, explosive sea spume, thunderous clouds, icy waves, whales with mountains on their backs, sleet, bitter winds, bleak, impenetrable marshes, howling wolves, forests, the unceasing cries of birds and the death grip of subterranean vaults that have never seen the sun: these are wild landscapes of a world almost familiar. Amy Jeffs is a Somerset-based art historian and printmaker with expertise in medieval art and literature. Illustrated with original wood engravings, evoking an atmospheric world of whales, wolves, caves, cuckoos and reeds, Wild will leave readers feeling 'westendream': delight in the wilderness. Similarly, the contemporary climate crisis echoes the experience of Lindisfarne before the Vikings invaded.

The stories that began each chapter were beautifully written and deeply moving, especially the first one on the plight of Hos, and I loved how Amy Jeffs took elements of several different medieval stories and joined them together to draw out themes and to bring the protagonists to life. Taking the Exeter Book as a starting point, Jeffs retells some of the stories from our ancient ancestors. It also doesn't hurt that (the hardback edition at least) has a larger print, making it a really friendly book to get into. The seven chapters, entitled Earth, Ocean, Forest, Beast, Fen, Catastrophe, Paradise, open with fiction and close with reflection. This epic novel from the American historian and activist traces the history of an African American family from slavery to the present day.I had really loved the storytelling and art work in Storyland and when I found out that there was a sequel coming out covering the early medieval period in a similar fashion I was excited. Jeff's uses ancient Medieval Texts (mostly from the Exeter Book) to create some really great short stories all focused around the wilderness of England. Across seven themed chapters the Storyland author presents an inspiring excavation of the British countryside through diverse medieval texts. A lovely blend of stories, poetry and non-fiction all transporting the reader back to the ancient wilds of Britain.

Jeffs explains the fabricated etymology of the word avian that Isidore of Seville provided in his Etymologiae.The first chapter opens with a ghost story, The Lament of Hos, in which a woman rises from her earthy resting place to revisit the site of her violent demise; there she was supposed to meet her lover, Ertae, but instead encountered a group of men, “their breath all drink and eels”, who beat and killed her. Her previous book Storyland, which focused upon the history and legends of the United Kingdom and Ireland as a whole, was covered in Season 7, Episode 108 of The Folklore Podcast. The chapters open with a reimagining of a poem or riddle from the Exeter Book, and end with the author’s reflections upon what was just written. From the Old English elegies to the englynion and immrama of the Celtic world - stories that largely represent figures whose voices are not generally heard in the corpus of medieval literature: women, outcasts, animals. For me this gives the poems and tales far more immediacy and a way to relate to them more than reading a translation, no matter how good.

These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Wild is a beautiful book to draw you into medieval Britain, to the Saxon's and their miserable epic poetry .From the Old English elegies to the englynion and immrama of the Celtic world – stories that largely represent figures whose voices are not generally heard in the corpus of medieval literature: women, outcasts, animals.