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Scottish Folk Tales
Nearly 70 Scottish folk tales involving fairies, historical figures, and good vs evil.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
36 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
Geddes and Grosset
131 books5 followersThe Gresham Publishing Company Limited is an independent Scottish book publishing company, based on the south side of Glasgow, Scotland UK.
G&G was established in 1988, and ten years later became part of DC Thomson.
Now, just over 25 years after it was started, G&G is back as part of a new independent Scottish company. In October 2013 we bought Geddes and Grosset (G&G), and Waverley Books from the DC Thomson Group.
Geddes & Grosset
G&G’s story began in 1988 when Ron Grosset left William Collins Sons & Co. to start a publishing business with David Geddes, based in the World Heritage Village of New Lanark, Scotland.
G&G’s first major non-fiction success was gaining an order from Proctor and Gamble for 2.5 million copies of a book - House Plants.
In 1989 G&G created their first dictionaries and focused on the USA where the 'promotional' market was well-established. Two years later G&G won a Scottish business award for export sales. The idea of promotional books is to produce books that are affordable, accessible and within the weekly budget of most people to help with homework, or have a simple reference book in the home or school. They provide essential information but do not have a high street name or brand attached to them. The aim was to produce reference books – English grammar guides, English dictionaries, French-English dictionaries, crossword dictionaries and children’s books – at affordable prices for the mass market.
In 1992 Mike Miller joined the company from publisher Blackie & Son, where he had been Publisher and CEO. Mike Miller became the G&G co-publisher on David Geddes’ retirement.
Blackie had sold its dictionaries and English guides all over the world, and had offices in London, Glasgow and Bombay. Today the Blackie connection remains through a strong association with Mike Miller, formally, The Gresham Publishing Partnership, which led to the Gresham Publishing Company name being re-introduced.
The original Gresham Publishing Company was founded in 1898 by Blackie & Son Ltd , publishers in Glasgow, Scotland. Blackie & Son had started subscription and instalment selling in the late 1870s – works such as Kerner's Natural History of Plants and Davis's Natural History of Animals. The Gresham Publishing Company was formed in order to take over the subscription trade of Blackie & Son Ltd and also to introduce the publication of scientific and technical books. Titles included The New Popular Encyclopaedia (1900) and the Gresham Dictionary and Gresham Encyclopaedia (1910s). The firm was incorporated in 1917 as Gresham Publishing Company Limited and had its head office London with branches in almost every major British city as well as branches in Canada and India. The original company continued trading for fifty years until 1948, and now, sixty-five years on, the Gresham name is once again to the fore as a Glasgow–based publisher.
Today, operating within Gresham, G&G is an established brand for publishing and exports popular, affordable and useful books such as dictionaries, bi-lingual books, English grammar and usage texts, for language learning as well as books on Self-Help, Diet & Health and Mind, Body & Spirit.
G&G celebrated 25 years in autumn 2013 and has published and sold 75 million books since 1988 and has created dictionaries, reference and puzzle material for many publishers such as Readers Digest - Canada & USA, Cassell, Orient Longman and for the mass-market imprints of Random House, Penguin Books and Hodder.
Waverley Books
In 2007 G&G developed a second publishing list called Waverley Books, which focused on Scottish titles.
The list enjoyed success with flagship projects – the graphic novel versions of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped and Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, adapted by Alan Grant and illustrated by Cam Kennedy.
The creation of Maw Broon’s Cookbook – the fastest selling Scottish book of all time, team sparked a whole licensing programme for DC Thomson around The
G&G was established in 1988, and ten years later became part of DC Thomson.
Now, just over 25 years after it was started, G&G is back as part of a new independent Scottish company. In October 2013 we bought Geddes and Grosset (G&G), and Waverley Books from the DC Thomson Group.
Geddes & Grosset
G&G’s story began in 1988 when Ron Grosset left William Collins Sons & Co. to start a publishing business with David Geddes, based in the World Heritage Village of New Lanark, Scotland.
G&G’s first major non-fiction success was gaining an order from Proctor and Gamble for 2.5 million copies of a book - House Plants.
In 1989 G&G created their first dictionaries and focused on the USA where the 'promotional' market was well-established. Two years later G&G won a Scottish business award for export sales. The idea of promotional books is to produce books that are affordable, accessible and within the weekly budget of most people to help with homework, or have a simple reference book in the home or school. They provide essential information but do not have a high street name or brand attached to them. The aim was to produce reference books – English grammar guides, English dictionaries, French-English dictionaries, crossword dictionaries and children’s books – at affordable prices for the mass market.
In 1992 Mike Miller joined the company from publisher Blackie & Son, where he had been Publisher and CEO. Mike Miller became the G&G co-publisher on David Geddes’ retirement.
Blackie had sold its dictionaries and English guides all over the world, and had offices in London, Glasgow and Bombay. Today the Blackie connection remains through a strong association with Mike Miller, formally, The Gresham Publishing Partnership, which led to the Gresham Publishing Company name being re-introduced.
The original Gresham Publishing Company was founded in 1898 by Blackie & Son Ltd , publishers in Glasgow, Scotland. Blackie & Son had started subscription and instalment selling in the late 1870s – works such as Kerner's Natural History of Plants and Davis's Natural History of Animals. The Gresham Publishing Company was formed in order to take over the subscription trade of Blackie & Son Ltd and also to introduce the publication of scientific and technical books. Titles included The New Popular Encyclopaedia (1900) and the Gresham Dictionary and Gresham Encyclopaedia (1910s). The firm was incorporated in 1917 as Gresham Publishing Company Limited and had its head office London with branches in almost every major British city as well as branches in Canada and India. The original company continued trading for fifty years until 1948, and now, sixty-five years on, the Gresham name is once again to the fore as a Glasgow–based publisher.
Today, operating within Gresham, G&G is an established brand for publishing and exports popular, affordable and useful books such as dictionaries, bi-lingual books, English grammar and usage texts, for language learning as well as books on Self-Help, Diet & Health and Mind, Body & Spirit.
G&G celebrated 25 years in autumn 2013 and has published and sold 75 million books since 1988 and has created dictionaries, reference and puzzle material for many publishers such as Readers Digest - Canada & USA, Cassell, Orient Longman and for the mass-market imprints of Random House, Penguin Books and Hodder.
Waverley Books
In 2007 G&G developed a second publishing list called Waverley Books, which focused on Scottish titles.
The list enjoyed success with flagship projects – the graphic novel versions of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped and Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, adapted by Alan Grant and illustrated by Cam Kennedy.
The creation of Maw Broon’s Cookbook – the fastest selling Scottish book of all time, team sparked a whole licensing programme for DC Thomson around The
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 19, 2020
As some of the other reviews mentioned, certain tales in this book deserve a 5 star rating, and others deserve a 1. It was a mixed bag, but the book was overall interesting and entertaining, especially for the inexpensive price point.
October 21, 2020
A great collection of folk tales compiled from all over Scotland. It covers everything from fairies, elves, witches, local heroes, giants, princesses, evil step mothers & siblings to brownies and troublesome water spirits and more. There is also a story about a runaway bannock.
These short stories can be dipped in and out of. I enjoyed the first half of the book especially but was less enthused with the last few tales.
This collection of folk tales gives a fascinating glimpse into Scotland’s past. It is very cool how these particular stories have been passed down through generations. Also, it is thought provoking to note the similarities in tales between cultures. I have read similar tales in the Grimm’s fairy tales collection. It is intriguing seeing the differences in variations.
Had a lot of enjoyment reading this particularly the early and mid tales within the book. Wonderful read for anyone with an interest in Scottish folklore.
These short stories can be dipped in and out of. I enjoyed the first half of the book especially but was less enthused with the last few tales.
This collection of folk tales gives a fascinating glimpse into Scotland’s past. It is very cool how these particular stories have been passed down through generations. Also, it is thought provoking to note the similarities in tales between cultures. I have read similar tales in the Grimm’s fairy tales collection. It is intriguing seeing the differences in variations.
Had a lot of enjoyment reading this particularly the early and mid tales within the book. Wonderful read for anyone with an interest in Scottish folklore.
May 28, 2020
Rating: 2. Very close to one star. 📚 Just hard to read: some tales (quite few) were very good and let me feel that special Scottish mood and vibe. Rest: either repetitive, either written in difficult language, or just boring. No memories left after closing last page, or it even left a feeling of literature torture. Don't read, in my opinion.
March 10, 2018
I would have liked a bit more context for some of the stories with dates, sources and themes. It feels like there's an internal logic to the way the stories are ordered but that's not been communicated to the reader.
December 16, 2022
A lot of repetition & common themes but generally a good time
June 26, 2022
Collections are always kinda hit–and–miss. Some of the stories were entertaining and easy to read, while others were less so. Still, a fun read.
April 6, 2015
A mixed bag. A handful of the tales are fantastic, most are rather dull. There is an interesting amalgamation of Germanic, Celtic, Norse, Catholic and even Greek and Slavic elements in the tales, but the end result often feels clunky and overburdened with tropes it doesn't know what to do with.
October 17, 2010
Fun to read but by the end I was kind of tired of it.
October 8, 2011
This is a good book to curl up with on a dark, windy night with plenty of creepy sounds in the house.
July 18, 2015
3.75/5 I really enjoyed the stories in the beginning, but they became boring and tedious towards the middle/end.
January 4, 2021
The first half of the book was sweet and enjoyable. But the last half was boring and slow and mind numbing. I skipped the last 70 pages, because it seemed like a waste of time to continue reading...
September 12, 2016
It was O.K., but most stories were boring or written in vernacular, which was difficult for me to understand.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews