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The Folklore of Discworld
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  • Published: 1 October 2009
  • ISBN: 9780552154932
  • Imprint: Corgi
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 528
  • RRP: $32.99
Categories:

The Folklore of Discworld

Formats & editions
EBook
1 Dec 2010
Audiobook
19 July 2012
Paperback
1 Oct 2009
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Terry Pratchett joins up with a leading folklorist to reveal the legends, myths and customs of Discworld, with helpful hints from Planet Earth.

A non-fiction guide to the real folklore that influenced Terry Pratchett's bestselling Discworld series. Go beyond the novels to discover more about the fantastically funny and gloriously inventive world of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

NOW UPDATED to include material on the Discworld books up to Raising Steam.

Most of us grow up having always known 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 now beginning to be forgotten. Legends, myths, fairytales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and how we got there. 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.
  • Published: 1 October 2009
  • ISBN: 9780552154932
  • Imprint: Corgi
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 528
  • RRP: $32.99
Categories:

About the authors

Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of over fifty bestselling books which have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.

www.terrypratchettbooks.com

portrait photo of Terry Pratchett

Jacqueline Simpson

Dr Jacqueline Simpson was born in 1930 and studied English Literature and Medieval Icelandic at Bedford College, University of London. She has been an active member of the Folklore Society since the 1960s, having served at various times as Editor, Secretary and President. She also belongs to the Viking Society for Northern Research. She is particularly interested in local legends, both English and Scandinavian. Her books include British Dragons (1980), Scandinavian Folktales(1988), A Dictionary of English Folklore (2000, with Steve Roud), The Lore of the Land (2005, with Jennifer Westwood) and The Folklore of the Discworld (2008, with Terry Pratchett). She is a member of the Ghosts and Scholars Society and the Dracula Society. She lives in Sussex.

Date: 2013-08-06
Dr Jacqueline Simpson was born in 1930 and studied English Literature and Medieval Icelandic at Bedford College, University of London. She has been an active member of the Folklore Society since the 1960s, having served at various times as Editor, Secretary and President. She also belongs to the Viking Society for Northern Research.She is particularly interested in local legends, both English and Scandinavian. Her books include British Dragons (1980), Scandinavian Folktales (1988), A Dictionary of English Folklore (2000, with Steve Roud), The Lore of the Land (2005, with Jennifer Westwood) and The Folklore of the Discworld (2008, with Terry Pratchett). She is a member of the Ghosts and Scholars Society and the Dracula Society. She lives in Sussex.

JS

Praise for The Folklore of Discworld

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

One of the most interesting and critically underrated novelists we have... The Folklore of Discworld - co-authored with the eminent folklorist Jacqueline Simpson - emphasises his irreverence and drollery

The Times

Simpson provides depth to the real-world analogues of the Discworld characters, and the text becomes a neatly integrated discussion of folklore, belief systems and the like in both worlds... well written and will raise a smile... a fine Hogswatch present.

Fortean Times