Stories and Folk-lore of West Cornwall: Third Series

By William Bottrell

A landscape speaks through story, superstition and dialect in this many-voiced record of West Cornwall. Around Penzance, oral tradition preserves encounters with ghosts, witches, fairies, giants and conjurors alongside memories of work, recreation and communal observance. Legends of wrestlers and demons sit beside comic drolls, local histories and conversations shaped by the distinctive rhythms and vocabulary of Cornish speech. Everyday customs give the collection its breadth and texture. Mining and fishing, markets and village feasts, courtship and funerals all enter the record, while wrestling, hurling and popular entertainments reveal how communities gathered and competed. Christmas carols and midsummer practices appear beside beliefs concerning witchcraft and astrology, allowing humour, faith, fear and practical experience to coexist without being reduced to a single account of regional life. The physical country is equally present: churches, holy wells, prehistoric stones, castles, lanes and other landmarks become points where history and folklore meet. Antiquarian observations deepen the local accounts, while the glossary clarifies Cornish words, regional nicknames and expressions embedded in the dialogues and tales. Together, these varied forms preserve not only traditional folk tales but the voices, habits and shared knowledge through which a community described itself. This book was out of print for decades and is now republished by Alpha Editions. It has been restored for today's and future generations. This edition is not just a reprint - it's a collector's item and a cultural treasure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9378412920
• ISBN13: 9789378412929
• Release Date: January 2027
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"