The Folklore of Discworld, Terry Pratchett
The Folklore of Discworld, Terry Pratchett
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The Folklore of Discworld
Legends, Myths, and Customs from the Discworld with Helpful Hints from Planet Earth

Author: Terry Pratchett, Jacqueline Simpson

Narrator: Michael Fenton Stevens

Unabridged: 12 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/25/2014

Synopsis

Terry Pratchett joins up with a leading folklorist to reveal the legends, myths and customs of Discworld, together with helpful hints from Planet Earth.

Most of us grew up having always known when to touch wood or cross our fingers, and what happens when a princess kisses a frog or a boy pulls a sword from a stone, yet sadly some of these things are beginning to be forgotten. Legends, myths, and fairy tales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and how we got here. It is the same on Discworld, except that beings, which on Earth are creatures of the imagination — like vampires, trolls, witches and, possibly, gods — are real, alive and, in some cases kicking, on the Disc.

In The Folklore of Discworld, Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jacqueline Simpson to take an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated and affectionately libelled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld.

About The Author

TERRY PRATCHETT is the acclaimed creator of the bestselling Discworld series, the latest of which is Raising Steam. He has been appointed OBE and a Knight Bachelor in recognition of his services to literature. Sir Terry lives in England. DR. JACQUELINE SIMPSON is a long-standing member and office-holder on the committee of the Folklore Society. Her publications include Green Men and White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names; A Dictionary of English Folklore; Folklore of Sussex; Icelandic Folktales and Legends; and (with Jennifer Westwood) The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's Legends.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Trish on April 29, 2018

The magpies in the image are so important because of how this book came to be. In order to understand Sir Terry, his motivation, the deal with the magpies and why I've cried reading even only the first two pages, please read an excerpt from the author's introduction to this book: Not long after th......more

Goodreads review by Bradley on April 30, 2018

I wavered between 3-4 stars on this one, but I'm nothing if not a bit generous when it deserves it. My main concern was that this was another book cashing in on the huge popularity of Pratchett, and it is, but it didn't dim my enjoyment. I love folklore and myth and this one is full of a bunch of mirr......more

Goodreads review by Otherwyrld on March 19, 2014

I've read a few of the non-fiction books associated with Terry Pratchett's Discworld books but somehow missed this one when it first came out, which is a pity because I have an interest in mythology and folklore. The book itself is lightweight and doesn't really add that much to knowledge of either E......more

Goodreads review by James on January 31, 2012

I'm a fan of both Terry Pratchett and folklore. I definitely learnt some things, but also knew quite a lot of it already, which perhaps reflects the four star rating rather than the five one might otherwise expect given my stated interests. You don't need to have read all the discworld novels to get......more

Goodreads review by Judyta on August 19, 2022

There should be a place where stones dance. And so there is, not just one but many, and some of them are listed in this wonderful book. Terry Pratchett’s power to create such a coherent and convincing magical world was rooted, amongst other things, in his amazing skill in weaving well-known motifs and......more

Quotes

“One of the most interesting and critically underrated novelists we have … The Folklore of Discworld — co-authored with the eminent folklorist Jacqueline Simpson — emphasizes his irreverence and drollery.”
— The Times

“Pratchett is, like Mark Twain or Jonathan Swift, not just a great writer but also an original thinker … funny, exciting, lighthearted and, like all the best comedy, very serious.”
— Guardian

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