The Coming of the Unicorn: Scottish Folk Tales for Children

Duncan Williamson; Edited by Linda Williamson

Price:	£8.99
Publication Date:	22 Mar 2012
Availability:	Available to buy

'Stories are something you carry with you, something to last your entire life, to be passed on to your children, and their children for evermore.'
Duncan Williamson.

Duncan Williamson came from a family of Travelling People, who told stories around the campfire for entertainment and for teaching. As a child, Duncan learnt the ways of the world through stories: 'My father's knowledge told us how to live in this world as natural human beings -- not to be greedy, not to be foolish, not to be daft or selfish -- by stories.'

In this collection, he passes on some of these wonderful children's folk and fairy tales. For over sixty years Duncan travelled around Scotland -- on foot, then in a horse and cart, and later an old van -- collecting tales, which not only come from the Travelling People but from the crofters, farmers and shepherds he met along the way.

This collection includes tales about cunning foxes and storytelling cats, hunchbacked ogres and beautiful unicorns, helpful broonies and mysterious fairies, rich kings and fearsome warriors, as well as those about ordinary folk trying to make their way in the world. The stories have been written down as faithfully as possible to Duncan's unique storytelling voice, full of colour, humour and life.

Reviews

'Mesmerising Scottish storyteller… Duncan Williamson was one of the most celebrated storytellers in Scotland … one of the world's best-known storytellers'
-- The Time

'The story-teller and singer Duncan Williamson was one of the greatest voices of Scots traveller culture'
-- The Independent

'Scotland's greatest contemporary storyteller'
-- The Guardian

'Scotland's greatest traditional storyteller'
-- The Scotsman

'The Coming of the Unicorn by Duncan Williamson is a wonderful collection of Scottish folk and fairy tales for children. The stories are beautifully told and perfectly written to be read aloud to the small child or children in your life. What is especially nice is that although these are stories with many familiar "folk tale" elements, they also have a freshness and originality which really keeps you turning the page. The novelty of the stories mean that you don't know the end before you start, and as a result this is a book that is every bit as interesting and enjoyable for the adult doing the reading as it is for the child doing the listening. Or, of course, for slightly older children reading the stories for themselves … What really brings the stories to life is an understanding of their background and purpose, set out in the introduction. Duncan Williamson lived from 1928 to 2007. He was a Traveller, born in a tent in Argyll, and one of fourteen children … The stories in this collection are the stories of his childhood or others collected later: in many cases originally heard from his father, his grandmother, or her brother. Stories played a central role in entertaining and educating children in the Traveller community, and this volume helps give some insight into a way of life now all but gone: as well as dishing up a bunch of extremely good stories!'
-- www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk, April 2012

About the Author(s)

Duncan Williamson was born in 1928 on the shores of Loch Fyne. He was the seventh of sixteen children born to a family of Travellers, who set up camp in the same place every winter and wandered the Highlands during the summer, hawking their tin and natural willow wares. Duncan left home at the age of fifteen and spent the next forty years travelling, continuing the traditional trades of his people. In 1980 he moved into a farm cottage in Fife with his second wife, Linda, who transcribed some of his vast repertoire of songs, stories and family history. Duncan died in 2007, leaving behind a worldwide legacy. His reputation was extraordinary and the impact of his storytelling continues in literary editions of his work, published by Canongate, Cambridge University Press, Penguin, Mondadori, and more recently Birlinn, Luath Press and Floris Books.

Linda Williamson was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1949. She has a PhD from Edinburgh University, and is an American folklorist, storyteller and editor. She has three children and five grandchildren -- on both sides of the Atlantic.

Useful Things to Know

If you love Scottish folk tales and mythology, you'll love Lari Don's modern classics in the First Aid for Fairies series, which draw on fabulous beasts and fantastical creatures from traditional stories and legends:
First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts
Wolf Notes and Other Musical Mishaps
Storm Singing and other Tangled Tasks

For gentle, humourous stories featuring creatures from Scottish traditional tales, children aged 6-10 will love the Hamish books by Moira Miller, with black and white illustrations by Mairi Hedderwick:
Hamish and the Wee Witch
Hamish and the Fairy Gifts

Don't miss the Discover Kelpies website for children with exclusive author interviews, fun stuff and latest gossip on your favourite Scottish stories.