I think it was a brilliant idea to include the original source material stories at the end of the book, as it really gives the reader basis for comparison, and highlights how cleverly the new stories have been re-spun. I enjoyed this collection, especially the stories, where bad men are put to a gruesome end, richly deserved. That is not to say that these stories are by any means weaker or more predictable for having their authors’ hallmarks.

Perhaps the latter is no bad thing if it brings us a new and exciting story, but for the former to be worth including in the collection, there ought to be some kind of twist. She is the author of nine books, including those published by Bloomsbury, Quercus and the National Trust. Rosheen' by Irenosen Okijie is based on 'The Dauntless Girl' and feels solidly Gothic while discussing heritage and courage. Finding out this collection of stories has previously been (at least parts) available as a podcast with stories specially written for a speaking performance, definitely made me interested in the audiobook format of 'Hag'.

Maybe I would have enjoyed this collection more if I hadn't already known the folklore and folktales they're supposed to be based on, but most of them were so far removed from their origin that they essentially weren't. The stories were picked from different parts of the UK and Ireland and gave all managed to capture what the local areas have to offer.

This collection includes an introduction by Carolyne Larrington who is an author and professor of medieval literature at Oxford University. Trigger Warnings: mention of cancer, possession, exorcism, murder, adultery, homophobia, infertility, miscarriage, mention of child abuse, drug use throughout pregnancy, alcoholism, domestic abuse. Mahsuda Smith is represented by The Panther’s Tale, which combines an anecdote linked to a Midlands’ aristocratic family’s coat of arms with shapeshifting legends drawn from the author’s Bengali folk heritage. Without the separation of episodes, it feels a little same-y to have two stories both commenting on the nature of storytelling in this way. Perhaps it was unfair to give this implicit standards to live up to, but nevertheless they were not met.She keeps all the bare bones of the original story, in which the Tudor courtier Sir John Giffard kills the panther from his menagerie of curious animals before it can attack a woman and child.