BEYOND NINE FORESTS: TALES OF HIDDEN BULGARIA

Shapeshifting children, amorous dragons, dangerous nymphs who ride deer and wear rainbows for belts, doomed heroes who can overcome any obstacle but their own death: Bulgarian folktales weave into a rich and mesmerising universe. On the surface they are moving and strange, a combination of hair-raising adventure and sorrow for the lost lives of fair maidens and young men turned into stags. Deep beneath the entertaining and emotional level, however, runs an older current – coded memories of millennia-old traditions and beliefs of the Bulgarians, and of the peoples who lived in these lands before and alongside them.

English-speaking readers are largely unaware of this trove of storytelling and ancient myth. Beyond Nine Forests: Tales of Hidden Bulgaria by Moni Georgieva Sheehan is an excellent introduction. It goes beyond retelling some of Bulgaria's most mesmerising and strange tales: the book provides crucial historical and mythological background that helps the reader navigate these stories and find their own way into the labyrinths of myth.

Like so many storytellers, and in true continuation of the oral tradition, Moni Georgieva Sheehan discovered the strange world of Bulgarian folklore at home, through her mother. Paraskeva Georgieva Stefanova Armstrong left Bulgaria soon after the Second World War with her British husband. Far from her family and roots, she found a way to keep Bulgaria close. She told stories to her daughters. She recounted strange memories from her youth and spoke of the uncanny creatures of Bulgarian folklore: karakondzho goblins, vampires and wild samodivi.

Yet Moni Sheehan discovered the true wealth of Bulgarian folklore only when she went to Plovdiv to study Bulgarian folk dance. In 1995 she began researching it in earnest. "I came across not just one, but many stories that blew me away – dramatic, emotional, magical and cosmic stories that are definitely not for children," she told us. "Little Stag Brother" made a particularly strong impression. It begins with a brother and sister fleeing from their would-be cannibal parents and tells of their many trials, which include shapeshifting and constant transitions between death and life. The story compels not only through its tight plot – Moni Sheehan is eager to point out its rich metaphors and symbols referencing elements from Bulgarian traditional weddings.

As Moni Sheehan grew into a storyteller with her British-Bulgarian storytelling company A Spell in Time, she and her mother began working together to find, translate and analyse some of the most fascinating Bulgarian folk tales and epic songs into English.

After 30 years of work, the book is now ready: a beautiful, top quality, fully bound hardback. Across more than 300 pages, Beyond Nine Forests: Tales of Hidden Bulgaria is many things at once.

It is a fascinating collection of stories entirely new to the English-speaking reader – an eye-opener for anyone seeking to expand their horizons. Its analysis and contextualisation of possible hidden meanings make it a compendium of Bulgarian mythology. Its storytelling craft, which has adapted certain elements for modern readers, makes it a mesmerising read – you will find it hard to put down. Artwork by contemporary Bulgarian artists gives vivid form to the ideas and creatures that populate its pages. It is also the embodiment of an emigrant woman's sorrow for her native land, and of her daughter's love for her, and for that land.

Paraskeva Georgieva Stefanova Armstrong did not live to see Beyond Nine Forests published. But it is here now, ready to open an entirely new universe.

Find more about the book on www.spellintime.co.uk.

Beyond Nine Forests: Tales of Hidden Bulgaria (2026) is published by Paraskeva Publishing, ISBN 9781919509808. Also available as an ebook. The book is on most online bookshops. Readers outside the UK can order it via Blackwell's