‘Telling the bees and other customs: the folklore of rural crafts’ is written by Mark Norman and published by The History Press. Stories and rural crafts have travelled alongside one another, passed down from hand to hand, and from mouth to ear, throughout history. Sharing them holds societies together, shaping culture, folklore and mythology. ‘Telling the bees’ examines the customs, superstitions and tales woven into some of the world’s oldest trades – including blacksmithing, bee-keeping, milling and spinning. Although our often electronic, virtual lives can feel very removed from these manual, practical skills, the book details the ideas, sayings and stories which are carried forward to link traditional, rural life into our understanding of the modern, industrial world.
What did I think of the book?
Within ‘Telling the bees’, chapters are built around the trades involving wool, thread & cloth; bees & bee-keeping; blacksmiths & metalworking; beer & brewing and milling & baking. Some of the tales and poems in each chapter are thousands of years old, yet the themes of many will be familiar to the contemporary reader from re-tellings in storybooks, plays, films and song.
The author has put a huge amount of research into this book. It contains a dazzling amount of detail and his fascination with his subject is obvious. Initially, this made ‘Telling the bees’ overwhelming for me, as it moved across subjects very quickly and there were many new names and places from stories to try to remember and absorb. However, the more I got into the book, the more links I saw between stories from across the globe. Just as the rural crafts share key elements, regardless of which culture is practising them, many of the stories share morals, themes and recognisable characters. For example, three ladies who spin the fates of those around them are identifiable in many of the tales – and can be seen in the works of Shakespeare and brought up to date in television dramas about witchcraft. Once I had recognised some of the shared elements of the tales, I found this an interesting way to think about the similarities and differences in the rural crafts and story-telling between the cultures involved and was able to enjoy the stories.
This book will be enjoyed by a range of readers. Crafters, bakers, brewers and bee-keepers will appreciate finding out about the stories and traditions of their skills. Anyone interested in the history of words and names, language or literature will also find plenty to think about here. However, the book’s main appeal should come as many of us search for connections between ourselves and others, ‘Telling the bees’ reminds us that gathering together to perform traditional rural crafts can act as a starting point for the recounting of stories from our shared culture – and the new telling of our own, personal stories.
How much is the book and how can you buy it?
‘Telling the bees and other customs: the folklore of rural crafts’ by Mark Norman, is published by The History Press. The hardback retails for £12.00 and can be purchased here.
About the author
Mark Norman is a folklore author, researcher and the creator and host of ‘The Folklore Podcast’. Mark’s aim is to try and present the fascinating social history of the beliefs, traditions and customs of our communities and cultures to a wide audience, in an accessible and enjoyable way. Mark also holds the U.K.’s largest archive of sightings, traditions and eye-witness accounts relating to apparitions of ghostly black dogs – the folklore which inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to write ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ featuring Sherlock Holmes.
Mark lives in mid-Devon with his wife Tracey, his daughter, an insane hamster and a feline trip hazard.
Mark Norman is a council member of The Folklore Society, a society devoted to the study of all folklore and tradition, including ballads; folktales; traditional song and dance; folk arts and crafts; plant & weather lore and many other aspects of folklife.
About the book
Title: Telling the bees and other customs: the folklore of rural crafts
Author: Mark Norman
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 9780750992152
Trim Size: 203x133mm
Pages: 192 pages
Review by: Sharon Corbally
You may also want to read this:
Book Review: Animal Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland by Sharon Jacksties
Book review: ‘Folk tales of rock and stone’ by Jenny Moon
Book Review: Irish Gothic Fairy Stories by Steve Lally and Paula Flynn Lally
* We were sent a copy of the book in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.
30 comments
This sounds like a very interesting book, my Dad was a baker as was his Dad and his Grandad, it followed down in generation until it got to me. He would love to read this
Hope you do get your hands on a copy Samantha
I love reading a book review that makes me want to go and buy a book but reading this one has inspired a christmas gift! Even better!
My friend and her husband are both craft mad so I think they’ll get a lot from this x
They would totally love this, thanks for sharing
This sounds like such a lovely read and something you can totally immerse yourself in! Totally loving the wool too! Such gorgeous colours! Sim x
Thank you Sim, appreciate it
This sounds absolutely fascinating! I really enjoy storytelling based around folklore but I haven’t seen this book before – I’m definitely going to get hold of a copy of this book to read.
Thank you for posting this review – it’s inspired my next read!
It is a new book Amy, and one you don’t want to miss reading
What an interesting book. If you are a craft lover or lover of history and tradition I think this would be a great Christma s gift
Absolutely, we are already starting to give ideas to our readers about Christmas Gifts
This sounds like it would be a great gift idea for folks that enjoy crafting. I guess I always thought crafting came as a result of necessity, but then again maybe not.
Perfect gift idea if you ask me Valerie
I am tempted to buy this as a Christmas gift for one of my friends as she keeps bees and has her own business selling products made using natural beeswax. Bet she would love reading this book.
How wonderful! Thank you for sharing that, lots of interesting stories in there which I am sure she would love reading
This sounds like a really interesting book and one I think one of my friends would really enjoy! I’m intrigued by the book myself!
Lovely to hear that Rebecca, thank you
This sounds like a really interesting book, a good nonfiction book. I need to start varying the kinds of books I read a bit more and not just read chick lit all the time x
Agree Rhian, sometimes it is fun reading books like this
This sounds like an interesting social history book, I love reading more about customs and superstitions.
How lovely to hear that Jenny, it is a fab book
Oh wow this sounds like a really interesting book. And I really love reading and learning about customs and folklore. And how cute is that cover too!
A fab book indeed and stunning cover
This book sounds really interesting. I actually really quite enjoy this type of book, I’m especially fond of all this witchcraft and how nature has played it’s role in forming society as we know it! My dad would really enjoy this read too, I think I’ll get it for him for Christmas.
Thank you for sharing that Rachel, hope you will get a copy for your dad
It is certainly different from the sort of books I would normally read. Sounds like an interesting read and possibly quite unique. I’m sure it would make a lovely gift.
It absolutely will make a fabulous gift Melanie
This sounds like a really unique and interesting read. Would make a great gift for someone.
Yes it would make a great gift indeed
This sounds like a fascinating book. I know people who’d love to read it. I’ll have to add it to my Christmas gift ideas list.
Please do Meena