Unhappily Ever After: A Collection of Unfortunate Folk Tales - Hardcover

by Tom Phillips (Author)

As children, we are told common fairy tales, all seemingly having happy-ever-afters. When we grow up, we realize that's not how life works and crave those stories that reflect the messy truths of life.

In these detailed retellings of folk tales aimed at adults, discover stories of abandoned men, fools who meet a sticky end, a person still waiting for death, and more. Some in these stories live happily ever after, but not all, as that's just not real life.

Tom Phillips retells and expands some of the favorite folk tales he has discovered and told over his many years as a storyteller, making them more gritty and real by giving them room to breathe.

Author Biography

TOM PHILLIPS is a professional storyteller who aims to bring traditional stories to young and old. He completed a degree in Primary education in 2008 and spent several years teaching across the key stages. During this time, he began storytelling, initially to children and then to adults. Whether telling stories to children in a school or adults at a heritage setting, folk tales are a constant. He has appeared on several podcasts discussing them and, in 2023, led a panel discussion about the importance of folk tales at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Alongside this, he has written many children's stories, begun a novel aimed at 8-12-year-olds and writes articles for Folklore Thursday on various folk tales from around the world. He is the author of Leicestershire Folk Tales for Children and Forest Folk Tales for Children, both published by The History Press.