Book Description

The House of the Sleeping Winds and Other Stories Some Based on Cornish Folklore is a bright wholesome volume of stories, founded on the lore of the old-world Cornish folk. From fairies, wishes, small people and quaint songs, this collection of delicate stories will enthrall children of all ages and adults alike. Stories include ‘The House of the Sleeping Winds’, ‘Hunting the Fairies’, ‘The Wishing Song’, An Enchanted Field’, ‘The Piskey Spoon’, ‘The Little Weather Man’, The Piskey Shoemaker,’ A Piskey Who Rose in a Pocket’, and ‘The Golden Egg’. Nellie Sloggett was an author and folklorist born in 1851 from Padstow, Cornwall. She wrote under the names Enys Tregarthen and Nellie Cornwall. At 17 she suffered a devastating spinal illness and was paralysed for the rest of her life. She began to keep diaries about flowers, the changing seasons, and birds and other creatures, all observed from her bedside window. This practice eventually led to the writing and publication of her first book, Daddy Longlegs, and His White Heath Flower, in 1885, under the pen-name Nellie Cornwall. Later she came to devote much of her attention to Cornish folklore and legend. She collected and recorded many stories about the Piskey folk, fairies of Cornish myth and legend. She published most of her works in this category under her better-known pen-name of Enys Tregarthen. Pook Press celebrates the great ‘Golden Age of Illustration‘ in children’s literature – a period of unparalleled excellence in book illustration from the 1880s to the 1930s. Our collection showcases classic fairy tales, children’s stories, and the work of some of the most celebrated artists, illustrators and authors.