Jacqueline Simpson

Some of the most unique and magical beings on the Discworld are born from stories and belief alone. Here Gods walk the Disc, along with trolls, vampires, witches and many other creatures of human imagination. In this alternate universe stories, superstitions and the supernatural are all warped and re-imagined into a reality both humorous and flat, as just about everything on this flat world has its roots on the round world of Earth. For on the Discworld magic is real and all things that have show more been imagined have been given life.

The Folklore Of Discworld and the folklore of our world are almost identical but for a few differences, the most obvious of which being that in our world folklore is just that, folk tales and legends, but in the Discworld folklore has become much more, it has become reality, albeit a twisted reality. Here the fairy tales, myths and legends that are ingrained within our collective consciousness are collected, manipulated and explained through the combined efforts of Terry Pratchett's unique wit and Jacqueline Simpson's folklore knowledge creating a book both informative and funny. show less

I was expecting something like the Science of Discworl, but this was even more entertainingly informative. It goes through the different legends and folk practices of the Disc, and talks about similar things that are found in our world. There's no plot, it's more of an ethnography and etymology. I know a fair bit about Earth folklore, but Pratchett has a different and deeper background. All the English mythology and urban legends that I just have never encountered are woven into the fabric show more of Discworld. And this book, with help from a real folklore expert, explains all the "real legends" I missed in my reading. Also, the conversation with Pratchett himself at the end of the audiobook was excellent. So brilliant. show less

This is an exellent, exellent reference book for the 'things that everyone knows' that crop up on the Discworld (and have strange parallels in different parts of the trouseres of space-time continuum, like, say, on Earth). Mirthfully the authors trace escaped particles of narrativum across the universes and observe their astonishing effects.

I have been looking for a book like this for years, and much regret buying some that were not co-authored by the man himself. It is charming to note the show more difference in writing styles of the authors and I caught myself grinning occasionally, thinking 'this is pure Pratchett'.

In 16 chapters different species, regions or character groups of the Diskworld are examined and their folk-loric or legendary background traced back to it's roots and presented for easy reference. A lot of chapters are sub-divided; for example the Chapter 'Beasties' has the sub-chapters 'Dragons', 'Basilisk and Chimera', 'Sphinx', 'Phoenix', 'Salamander', 'Unicorn' and 'The Luggage'.
But it is easy to find specific persons or places or events using the magnificent Index, and the Bibliography is mouth-watering and very tempting.

I am very happy I found this. show less

To know Steve Roud is to -- be amazed.

In other words, let it be said that I have a slight personal bias. But I don't know Jacqueline Simpson, and my personal contacts with Steve Roud are slight; we live on different continents and almost certainly will never meet. I know him primarily through his Folk Song Index, one of the great works of ballad scholarship.

That same scholarship is evident here. This is a very thorough book, and gives more detail than any comparable modern volume. It lists show more key sources, and also provides clear cross-references.

It should be noted that the title is correct; it is a dictionary of English folklore. Not British, and certainly not world folklore. You won't find Scots or Irish or Welsh material here, let alone material from the rest of Europe. The scope is quite restricted. But, within that scope, the level of detail is substantial. It will probably be many, many years before something arises to replace Simpson & Roud. show less