Lost & Found
“[Elizabeth] Garner writes of myth with lyricism and sensitivity, she is steeped in the gift for being able to control the surreal with startling force.”—Amanda Craig, The Times
“Her boy was born with eyes the colour of chestnuts, skin as soft as butter and his hair was coppice-copper bright. He was well-loved by both his mother and his father and they named him Johnnie…”
Folk tales take us beyond our own boundaries into unknown lands. Yet within these adventures, riddles and enchantments we find our common ground and shared humanity.
In this illustrated edition, Lost & Found is Elizabeth Garner’s own retelling of fifteen treasured folk tales that have nurtured, sustained, terrified and enthralled her in equal measure. Some of the stories are taken from the books of her childhood, some are remembered, and others she has discovered in her reading over the years.
Adorned with engraver Phoebe Connolly's beautiful woodcut illustrations, this collection includes stories such as “The Riddle of the Crossroads,” “The Twisted Oak.” “The Wits of the Whetstone” and many more.
Elizabeth Garner is the author of two novels, Nightdancing and The Ingenious Edgar Jones, both of which were influenced by traditional folk tale narratives and motifs. Lost & Found is her first collection of rewritten stories. She lives in Oxford. @Lostandfoundst2
Phoebe Connolly was born in Sussex in 1997, where she grew up in a house full of animals, art and books, surrounded by the South Downs and coast. She studied at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation, graduating in 2020. Working across a number of mediums, she has developed a passion for engraving, working with line and light to capture fleeting imagery on surfaces as diverse as paper, wood, metal and glass. Her illustrations for Lost & Found were engraved on end grain blocks and hand printed on an 1840s book binders Imperial press.
