The Chocolat novelist tells us about the power of traditional stories...
Being worried about the loss of our heritage isn’t a new idea. In the late 19th century, Harvard academic Francis James Child began to gather and publish the lyrics of British folk songs, and their American variants, lyrics he was worried might otherwise be lost. His English And Scottish Popular Ballads, better known as the Child Ballads, offer a precious snapshot of our islands’ folklore.
“They ought to be as famous as Grimms’ Fairy Tales, but for some reason they haven’t become so,” says Joanne M Harris, with just a hint of reproach in her voice.
Perhaps that’s about to change. A new novella from Harris, A Pocketful Of Crows, was inspired by ballad 295 of 305, “The Brown Girl”. A dark and magical tale of love and revenge that its author says is “part fairy tale, part almanac”, and part a paean for the English countryside, it taps into “the idea of ballads as a storytelling tradition”.
FAIRY QUEEN
If that sounds nostalgic, nothing could be further from the truth. Rather, this is a case of Harris trying to tap into the power of these stories. But doesn’t this power in itself make it difficult to escape the template of the original tales?
この記事は SFX の December 2017 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は SFX の December 2017 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Future Shock - Futurama's David X Cohen talks about what's in store for the show's ninth season
Futurama's David X Cohen talks about what's in store for the show's ninth season
Who Says
The Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz return - we're all ears
Parallel Doomsday
Terminator Zero creator Mattson Tomlin explains where the anime series fits within canon
Growing Your Hare
Daniel Kokotajlo talks about his '70s-set folk horror film Starve Acre
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY
TRIPS INTO TREK HISTORY PROVIDE SOMETHING OLD AND SOMETHING NEW FOR STAR TREK: DISCOVERY COSTUME DESIGNER ANTHONY TRAN
DAY OF THE JACKAL
TALKING TIME, TECH AND MYSTERIES IN PART TWO OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH DOCTOR WHO SHOWRUNNER RUSSELL T DAVIES
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES IN VINTAGE STYLE IN BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER
BATMAN IS NOT FRIENDLY,\" insists Bruce Timm. \"He has to be weird. It's not just enough for him to dress up like a weirdo - he has to be a weirdo.
KAOS THEORY
THE LIVES OF GODS AND MEN ARE ENTWINED IN KAOS MEET THE TEAM BEHIND NETFLIX'S EPIC DARK COMEDY
POWER UP
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER SHOWRUNNERS JD PAYNE AND PATRICK MCKAY PROMISE PLENTY OF TOLKIEN TREATS IN SEASON TWO
JAWS IN SPACE
FORTY-FIVE YEARS ON FROM ITS ORIGINAL RELEASE, ALIEN CONTINUES TO TERRIFY. WE DISSECT WHAT ARGUABLY REMAINS THE MOST CHILLING INSTALMENT IN THE SAGA