Wild: Tales from Early Medieval Britain

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Having studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge University, before completing an MA at the Courtauld Institute of Art and gaining a PhD in Art History from Corpus Christi College, Amy has a wealth of knowledge in medieval art and literature; one that she is effortlessly able to access when reciting lines at length. I draw strength from people who, for all their fallibility and the perils of their age, saw in the wilderness a potential for harmony and took action according to their understanding. It was as I was studying Britain’s medieval origin myth, the Brut, and completing my thesis for my PhD that I came across so many things that made my heart leap,” Amy tells me. Helpful commentaries elucidate on meanings and how the old poetry sheds light on a rich artistic culture in Medieval Britain, the medieval perspectives and understandings reflecting how they perceived the world they inhabit.

Those reading the print version can marvel at the extraordinary black-and-white wood cuttings that break up the chapters, while those enjoying the audiobook version can listen to music inspired by the same tales.With her musical creations equally as enchanting as her other work, there is no doubt that Amy is a multi-talented artist and author with plenty more to come. Maybe it's just because I've done a fair amount of reading into folktales but this book felt incredibly surface level and basic, even aside from the fact that the font size, line spacing, and margins both to both sides and top to bottom had the feeling of a children's book and definitely ballooned the book up to the 211 pages of actual content - with a more regular spacing and sizing, it could probably have been under 100 pages long. Supposedly, he ruled for 20 years several hundred centuries BC, and is credited as the architect of Bath, channelling the hot springs by the use of magic and building temples dedicated to the goddess Minerva. Sheer cliffs, salt spray, explosive sea spume, thunderous clouds, icy waves, whales with mountains on their backs, sleet, bitter winds, bleak, impenetrable marshes, howling wolves, forests, the unceasing cries of birds and the death grip of subterranean vaults that have never seen the these are wild landscapes of a world almost familiar.

Millie Bruce-Watt escapes through the mists of time to discover a world steeped in magic and mystery.The first chapter opens with a ghost story, The Lament of Hos, in which a woman rises from her earthy resting place to revisit the site of her violent demise; there she was supposed to meet her lover, Ertae, but instead encountered a group of men, “their breath all drink and eels”, who beat and killed her. I enjoyed WILD so much, I bought STORYLAND, the author's first title, after having read just a few of pages. In 2019, she gained a PhD in Art History from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, having studied for earlier degrees at the Courtauld Institute of Art and the University of Cambridge.