Margaret Helen James: a forgotten feminist folklorist in Victorian East Anglia

Autumn fields. Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

British regional folklorists of the 19th century remain, in many cases, rather obscure figures. Margaret Helen James (1859–1938) deserves particular attention for using her writing about folklore to give a voice to ordinary women and critique a patriarchal society, but until 2017 James was completely forgotten.

Bold Sisters in Fairy Tale Families

The stepmother creeps after Little Brother and Sister. Arthur Rackham, Public Domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50422017

Fairy tales often focus on relationships within families — interrogating the many ways in which these can break down, but also celebrating family.

“The neck! The neck! The neck!” – Kern Dollies, Corn Spirits & Harvest Home

• Palmer. A Cornfield by Moonlight with the Evening Star https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2091997

Incorporating folklore can add authenticity, richness and whole new layers of meaning to historical fiction. Novelist Melissa Harrison explores how traditional practices and beliefs around the harvest informed her creative process when she was writing her new book, All Among the Barley

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