If wonder tales are not abundant in England, other kinds of folktales thrive: local traditions, historical legends, humorous anecdotes. Many of the favorite tales which English-speaking peoples carry with them from childhood come from a long tradition--stories as familiar to Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Spenser, and their many contemporaries as they are to us.
"This is a fine, homely feast, immediately intelligble. . . ."--"Times Educational Supplement "
." . . should be of special concern to Americans since many of the tales are parallel to or the source of our own folk stories."--"Choice "
"This is entertainment, to be sure, but is also part of man's attempts to comprehend his world."--"Quartet "
""Folktales of England "is by all odds the most satisfactory general collection of folktales to come out of England since the advent of modern collection and classification techniques."--Ernest W. Baughman, "Journal of American Folklore "