Product details
- ISBN 9781806770168
- Weight: 200g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 06 Nov 2025
- Publisher: Wilton Square Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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Stories are living things. They are viral. They enter us through our eyes and our ears and they take up residence inside us
‘A landmark in the modern storytelling revival’ Professor Ronald Hutton
By way of fifty traditional narratives, Unriddling the World leads us on a winding path from the great stories of creation and redemption to nursery rhymes, ballads, riddles, folk tales, myths and legends that have stood the test of time. Shaped by countless voices and speaking in the enigmatic language of dreams, these narratives are a gift from the past to the present, representing the concentrated wisdom of human experience.
Rather than a standard anthology for silent reading, Lupton adapts these global classics specifically for the spoken word. Designed with the rhythm and cadence necessary to connect a speaker to an audience, it is not only entertaining for readers and listeners alike, but acts as a practical script for storytellers.
From ‘The Stone Monkey’ and the ‘Oil of Mercy’ to the ‘Pool of Dharma’, Lupton's collection is a monument to his craft, cementing his status as a master bard and keeping these vibrant stories alive for future generations to tell and tell again.
‘Unriddling the World is my Desert Island book’ Kevin Crossley-Holland
‘These are tales that are orchestrated for the living voice, and the interaction of teller and hearer’ Rowan Williams
‘Read and be enraptured by the deepest magic of all’ Erica Wagner
Hugh Lupton’s interest in traditional music, in street theatre, in live poetry and in myth, resulted in him becoming a professional storyteller in 1981. He was a founder member of 'The Company of Storytellers’ and has been a major figure in the revival of oral storytelling in Britain and Europe. Hugh tells stories from many cultures, but his particular passion is for the hidden layers of the British landscape and the stories and ballads that give voice to them. He has published several collections of folk tales for children and two acclaimed novels, The Ballad of John Clare and The Assembly of the Severed Head. Hugh lives in Norfolk.
