I’d like to think there were editorial clashes; Katharine Briggs, in her mid-seventies and a towering authority on British folklore, pushing for the inclusion of more fairy stories while Russell Ash, fresh off Fortean Times forerunner Man, Myth and Magic, arguing the case for quirkier tales of magic. Robin Gwyndaf Jones roaring “MORE WELSH!” Of course this is not how it would have happened, it’s fanciful nonsense. In reality, it would have been  compiled centrally, at the UK offices of that most unhip of institutions the Reader’s Digest, from the works of the impressive list of contributors. After all, even with such a line-up who could argue what is more valid to be included in a book like this? What is the bar for entry?

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