While it is trying to give a comprehensive look at the subject. Many outdated terminology was used and left me wanting. I don’t think he was a strong enough authority on the subject, and the material often left me wanting. There are plenty of higher quality reference books on the market.

A very interesting book covering historical myths.A riveting read.I would thoroughly recommend this book to everyone interested in English history and literature.

A great book for reference or just pure interest, English myths is a highly entertaining book detailing almost all of the myths and legends connected to England through the ages. The author is confident in his knowledge of his subjects and writes with a light hand. This book contains lovely illustrations which would appeal to all ages and levels of interest, I loved the experience of reading this book and would be happy to buy this for a friend and will be buying for myself too. Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Michael for a great read

I really enjoyed the layout of this book! The intertwining of historical context with the myths gave the stories a lot of extra depth.
An enjoyable read!

There have been plenty of books about Greek and Norse myths and legends. There are even many about the Romans. But it's not often I've come across one about English myths that goes into much detail. This was a lovely book that covered the expected well-known myths and some that are not so well known too. The book is well-illustrated and is presented in a way that the reader can randomly open the book and delve into the material. That said, it benefits the reader to read the introduction first. Historical context is provided in the introduction, giving the reader a better understanding of where the stories come from. This is very much a volume aimed at mainstream audiences and is easy to read.

Overall, I give this 3.5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Amber Books for this advanced reader copy. This review has been provided voluntarily.

This is an interesting and well presented coffee table book which covers a broad range of English myths, some of them in much more detail than others. Nothing is covered in a great deal of depth, however, and I felt that there was a lot at the start of the book about early English history rather than the country's mythology. The last chapter touched on a lot of more modern English myths and legends, but they were tantalisingly brief. I would have preferred to hear a lot more about the beast of Bodmin moor; the hairy hands on Dartmoor, Spring-Heeled Jack and so on, but these got barely a paragraph while Beowulf, Robin Hood and King Arthur had substantial chapters dedicated to them. There seemed also to be a lot of assumptions that the stories are known already, even with those such as King Arthur, which have many different versions. I enjoyed flicking through the book, but I don't think I really learned anything.

It was so interesting to learn about the different stories in English mythology. I enjoyed seeing all the pictures in tandem with the origins/facts about the different times in British history. English Myths is an excellent read for somebody like me who enjoys mythology.

A beautifully illustrated and comprenshive excursus of the English Myth. Some are well know, are were an interesting discovery.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A perfectly readable and highly pictorial telling of a story I didn't expect to read. I clicked on this expecting it to be a compilation of legends – Robin Hood, the Green Man, Arthur and the sword etc etc, but no – this is a history of English/British belief. So we have the neolithic ideas, which we have no firm knowledge of except for all the people of similar ilk thinking similar things, and deciding in their own similar ways how the world was born, how it got flooded, what the seasons mean etc. We have the Celts, and wherever and however they came about we know just as little, and the Romans with their habit of bringing their variation on Greek myth and mixing it up big time with what they found here, before the first documents belatedly tell us of the encroachment of the Anglo-Saxons, Hengist and Horsa principally.

We finally, at about the quarter mark, hit a fictional/mythic narrative – that of the earliest we know of, Beowulf. Now, none of this is to say that this is wrong or unwanted – it has just as much merit as the legends themselves. Much like it's of benefit to know what the temples looked like and how the people in them operated while they worshipped the Greek gods, it's of merit here to know who the Brits were as well as what they were telling each other. Reading around the myth is just as entertaining as the myths themselves, too, on this evidence.

Hence we not only get the Arthurian legends, in higgledy-piggledy fashion as befits the number of authors of what we might think of as the whole thing, but how people like William Morris and Tennyson responded to it. We get the Chartist reaction to Robin Hood when he crops up, too. And we even get a potted history of our thinking about fairies, before closing with more arcane thought – from witch-hunts to Spring-Heeled Jack.

Visually, this is as superb as this publisher's better pictorial efforts, even if at times the imagery is a little out of alignment with the written information. Elsewhere, the habit of dropping pull quotes into a margin to enliven the page where no artwork is available is a tad annoying and unnecessary. Box-outs convey more knowledge where possible, and the whole is a real feast of a book to scan, what with those and the captions. You can easily be here for longer than you intended, despite or because of it not being what you thought you'd signed up for. Four and a half stars.

It was so interesting to learn about the different stories in English mythology. I enjoyed seeing all the pictures in tandem with the origins/facts about the different times in British history. We saw fairies, King Arthur, Robin Hood and even saints. I liked how it was all put together and created a culture in a snapshot. This book is not in-depth but that would be impossible with only 225 pages. I am appreciative of the view I got and I am curious to read more now.

I received an arc via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

I love myths and legends and this was a fantastic version of classic English myths.
Written beautiful.

This was such an interesting read that combined both history and myth. It was a read that was full of facts but also didn't feel to heavy. Really enjoyable read.

From Beowulf, King Arthur, Robin Hood, through pixies and fairies to lesser known characters like Spring-heeled Jack, this is an engaging and thorough look at English myth. Beautifully illustrated throughout as well. An excellent read for somebody like me who enjoys mythology and especially Arthurian stuff.

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley.com.

English Myths by Michael Kerrigan was lovely to read. He summarized each myth and then discussed possible historical origins, as well as actual happenings of the time. Beowulf, King Arthur, chivalrous knights, Robin Hood, faeries, and beasts all were discussed.

I found the writing to be very engaging and there were plenty of beautiful full page illustrations dispersed throughout the book. Definitely check this book out if you're interested in mythology or English history.

"English Myths" by Michael Kerrigan is a well written overview of the history and fascinating tales that have come out of the UK, along with over 180 illustrations that fuel the imagination. It was pleasurable to read summaries of well known tales about Beowulf, Robin Hood, and King Arthur and his knights, and even Tom Thumb. Less well known tales of invaders, romance, daring, betrayal, ghosts, fairies, and other monsters were also a treat. I should not have been surprised that the the final chapter included well deserved modern classics by J.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. But it rounded off the collection very nicely.

This was a fun read. I thank Amber Books and Michael Kerrigan for kindly providing a temporary electronic review copy of this work.

This was an interesting book! Each myth is carefully explained, going through the story itself, then the historical, or mostly historical background. I enjoyed reading through these, from Beowulf, to Robin Hood, Arthur, and even Lord of the Rings - there are quite a few different tales and myths woven through the pages of this book,

Great weekend read for those looking for something with a little weight to it, and a bit of storytelling pieced through as well,

This is a fascinating piece of meticulous research. Congratulations to the author on such a complex, thorough guide. Whilst exploring the myths and legends of the British Isles, it guides us through the political and social history of our nation. Lovely photographs and illustrations are used throughout. The probable reality of the various myths are explored and analysed in an easily readable style. This could easily have been heavy going, but it isn’t at all and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

English Myths covers the history and what is known about eight English myths or legends. It contains beautiful illustrations including art, photos of artifacts and landscapes illustrating the stories being discussed. My favorites which I knew the most about were Arthurian Legend, Beowulf and Robin Hood. The writer is a freelance writer and not an historian. But he is the writer for many historical non-fiction photo books. The photos added a lot to the telling of the story and have a blurb saying what is being shown. But I was disappointed that paintings and artifacts were not identified as to the where they can be seen. For example The Lady of Shallot can be seen at the Tate Museum in London.

This is the kind of book I can easily imagine in public libraries or for someone who really wants to know about the topic. But I didn’t find it as easily readable as Chernobyl, the last book I read by the author. It is geared toward adult and not school age teens. Thank you to NetGalley and Amber Books Ltd. for a temporary eARC in exchange for an honest review.

(3.5 stars)

Michael Kerrigan digs deep into his newest work that looks to dissect the historical truth from English Myths. Examining several different popular stories such as King Arthur, Robin Hood, and the Lord of the Rings, Kerrigan shows the reasons that different myths and folk stories evolved the way they did and the historical significance that each had. Kerrigan argues that myths are ways to embellish historical events to make them more relatable and entertaining. The book flows excellently and includes many graphics to reinforce the text. Anyone with an interest in mythology or folk stories should definitely find themselves a copy.

A very enjoyable look at several myths and major mythological figures from English history. It takes you on a journey through the ages, up to more modern depictions of myths. The text was engaging, and I enjoyed the illustrations and art shown throughout. A great book to serve as an introduction to this particular area of mythology.