New Books Network Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, "The Three Ravens Folk Tales: New Tellings of Half-forgotten Stories from England's 39 Historic Counties" (The History Press, 2025)
Sep 18, 2025
Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon, co-creators of the Three Ravens podcast and authors of an upcoming collection of folktales, dive into the fascinating world of English folklore. They discuss legendary figures like giants and the demon dog, Black Shuck, while exploring modern interpretations of ancient stories. The duo reveals how England's landscape influences these tales and the surprising connections between global folklore. They also touch on traditional practices like witch bottles and the evolving nature of these cherished narratives.
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Podcast To Book Journey
- Martin and Eleanor started Three Ravens as a podcast and hoped it might become a book.
- The podcast's success led History Press to invite them to create the 39-county collection.
Variety As A Creative Constraint
- The authors drew counties randomly and aimed for variety in tone, era, and form across stories.
- They avoided repeating the same genre (e.g., ghost story) for every county to keep the collection fresh.
Learning Geography On The Job
- The hosts admitted they initially had a poor grasp of English geography and chose counties at random.
- That randomness forced creative research and discovery across unfamiliar places.
