91桃色

In the late nineteenth century, the folklorist Fran莽ois-Marie Luzel spent countless winter evenings listening to stories told by his neighbors, local Breton farmers and villagers. At these social gatherings, known as 惫别颈濒濒茅别蝉, Luzel recorded the tales in unusual detail, capturing a storytelling tradition that is now almost forgotten. The Midnight Washerwoman and Other Tales of Lower Brittany collects twenty-nine stories gathered by Luzel, many translated into English for the first time. The tales are presented in a series of five imaginary 惫别颈濒濒茅别蝉, giving readers a unique opportunity to listen in on a long-ago winter鈥檚 night of storytelling.

Some of the stories mix the apparently supernatural with the everyday鈥攁s in the title tale, when a mysteriously nocturnal washerwoman causes three handsome lads to flee so quickly they lose their clogs in the process. Others invite listeners to root for the underdog, as when a simple miller outwits a powerful seigneur. Another tale must have been greeted with raucous laughter as it recounts an ascending ladder of obstacles鈥攆rom a mouse to a cat to a man to God (or the Devil) himself鈥攃onfronted by a traveling ant. Michael Wilson, the volume鈥檚 editor and translator, provides a substantive introduction that discusses Luzel鈥檚 work and the significance of Breton storytelling.

Awards and Recognition

• Shortlisted for the Katharine Briggs Award, Folklore Society