Loved this, really unique and interesting book. Loved the chance to read a great selection of British writers too, really great. I'll be buying a copy for my mam for Christmas!!

An interesting collection of unusual British folklore retellings with a gothic flair. The original tales are a wee bit obscure so it was a great idea to include the original tales in the appendix. As with most anthologies, there were a few stories that I didn't enjoy as much as the others, but that is what is great about short stories and collections such as these. It is a nice taste-test to see if the author is one for you. I've definitely added a few of the previously-unheard-of-by-me authors to my TBR list.

Recommended for fans of Angela Carter, Catherynne M. Valente, Alix Harrow, A. S. Byatt, Joanne M. Harris, Emily Tesh, Circe, The Silence of the Girls, Wake, Siren: Ovid Resung, Irish Imbas, The Bone Houses

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for the reading copy.

I really enjoyed this collection. Some of the stories (each from a different author, all female) were stronger than others, but all were interesting to read. Each author is given a story from the folklore of the area of Britain or Ireland they themselves come from and they write a version which is more modern but still holds true to the message of the old tale only with a feminist touch.

This project was put together by Professor Carolyne Larrington, who explains in her Preface how she matched each of the eight author's with their tale and provides some context for both her aims and the original significance of the folktales.

Weird and wonderful, metafictional, sometimes combining elements of the multicultural by combining some touches of folklore and magic from other traditions. Readers should be aware there are elements of sexual trauma and loss. Not quite horror, but certainly creepy, at times the original stories are better than the new ones, but on the whole recommended.

I totally forgot to write this review but "Hag" was a brilliant collection of stories written by well known authors who all explored hags in different ways. I found it to be immsensely enjoyable and I am going to revisit the stories in the future.

Hag is a collection of ten stories of folklore from around the British Isles. Each story is very different from the last. I was interested in this collection as I've enough fiction from Kirsty Logan, Eimear McBride, Irenosen Okojie and Daisy Johnson.

I enjoyed most of the stories as the endings were all quite unexpected. It feels like this book would be good for anyone who is a fan of Angela Carter.

This was a little disappointing; but as with all anthologies there were some standout stories and some not-so-great ones, It's a shame there weren't more of the former.

A really unique and driven book. I just had to buy a hardback of this too - it's absolutely sublime!

Good book, not like anything I've read before. Enjoyable introduction to a range of writers Would recommend.

Folk tales from around the UK retold from a female perspective. Some stories stick quite faithfully to the original tale, transposing gender or relocating the story to more modern times. Others, like The Tale of Kathleen (my personal favourite) by Eimear McBride and A Retelling by Daisy Johnson, play more with the form and are more engaging as a result. McBride's story in particular toys with the idea of the omniscient narrator in a very amusing preamble to her tale.

But there is something for everyone in these stories, from pixies and fairies to mermaids and witches. All well told and entertaining, to be read occasionally or in one large gulp.

Hag is a very varied collection of ten reimagined traditional folk tales. All of the stories are set in and around the UK, but some carry flavours from their author’s cultural experiences and heritage that enrichen the style and content of the stories, and add layers to these stories of female ‘otherness’.

Each story is given either a feminist or a modern-world slant, or both, using the original stories as inspiration, rather than simply reproducing or ‘twisting’ them. Some of the stories are more ambiguous than fairytales generally are, hinting at explanations that are less overtly paranormal influence and more mental illness, grief, or human violence.

Personally I preferred the unambiguously paranormal stories, like the Selkie boy or The Panther’s Tale, to the more realistic and emotionally wrenching tales (I wanted fae intrigue and creepy horror!), but there is a good mixture in here of something for most tastes.

I think it was a brilliant idea to include the original source material stories at the end of the book, as it really gives the reader basis for comparison, and highlights how cleverly the new stories have been re-spun.

Excellent set of stories that flowed well together. I love a good retelling and these did not disappoint!

This was a okay short story collection! There were only about 3-4 that I liked which is a shame but one good thing about this collection it introduced me to many more female authors.

Sadly I did not enjoy as much as I wanted .

A great selection of feminist reimaginings of old folklore tales. The original tales are included for comparison. Some good writing but as with any anthology/collection not everything hit home.

Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

Hag is a collection of retellings of folklore from around the UK - a nice idea, as British/Irish/Welsh/Scottish myth isn't as well-remembered as some other European stories. As always, some were better than others; good writers all-round, but only a few stood out, and the arrangement of the book made them hard to tell apart. I would've much preferred the original stories to be beside their adaptations (rather than clumped together right at the end of the book). Even as much as I love fairy tales, I was unfamiliar with most of these stories, and by the time I reached their originals (which, I have to say, I enjoyed more than their modernist retellings, but that's just my preference) I had forgotten what each writer had done with them as they all sort of blended into one. So, enjoyable, but a little bit of clumsy editing made the whole thing a bit harder to follow.

This book started as an Audible podcast, where audio version of the stories exist. If you have an audible subscription definitely worth listening to. There is two new stories included in the book form, which will eventually be recorded for the podcast. The podcast does also have a discussion of the story with the writer and the expert on myth Professor Carolyne Larrington.

The Preface references Covid-19. Screams into the void.

A Retelling by Daisy Johnson, based on the Green Children of Woolpit (Suffolk):
This is a meta-story about a writer trying to come up with a retelling. She struggles with it and then eats a bunch of baked beans. Very relatable for anyone wanting to drag a story out of them. I liked the themes of isolation and feeling like an outsider. Hella relatable. The protagonist is also asexual and aromatic, no labels are used within the text but those are the feelings described and Johnson uses the term asexual when discussing the story on the podcast. As an Ace person myself, I think done well for the short story length. 3/5 stars for Floor Toast.
TW: Vivisepulture; Eye damage; Death (discussions);

Sour Hall by Naomi Booth, based on Ay, We're Flittin' (Yorkshire):
This story involves moving into a old dairy and trying to make fancy cheese. Past trauma is mainly what this story deals with. 4/5 stars for Raw Cheese.
TW: Miscarriage; pregnancy; Birth; Sexual Harassment; Domestic Abuse (referenced); Blood; Death of Wild Animal;

Rosheen by Irenosen Okijie, based on The Dauntless Girl (Norfolk):
A mixed-race comes from Ireland to Norfolk to find her father. 4/5 stars for Heads.
TW: Blood; Corpses; Gore; Murder:

Between Sea & Sky by Kirsty Logan, based on The Great Silkie of Skye Skerrie (Orkney):
So this is the first tale where I'm familiar with the myth it's based on, even if not the exact story. It's a pretty standard selkie tale. Told in the first person from two POV. 3/5 stars for Childish Lies.
TW: Drowning; Bones;

The Panther's Tale by Mahsuda Snaith, based on Chillington House (Stafford)
This story is based on a supposed historical event that some upper-class man shot a Panther. I really what Snaith does with this story, making it more about the panther and the mixing mythologies was cool. 4/5 stars for Chillies.
TW: Death; Domestic Abuse; illness;

The Tale of Kathleen by Eimear McBride, (County Galway)
A story about the fae and Catholic church are not to be trusted. This is written as if being told to by a modern storyteller, with side remakes in it, while still being set in the past.
This one 4/5 stars for Leaf smoke.
TW: Death; Grief; Child Abuse (brief reference); Rape (brief reference) religion; alcohol;

The Sisters by Liv Little, based on Tavistock Square (London)
This involves two sapphic sisters and they homophobic mother. I do like the story but does go a bit everywhere. 4/5 stars for Park Beers.
TW: Homophobia; Homophobic Parent; Terminal illness; Cancer; Death of a Parent;

The Dampness is Spreading by Emma Glass, Based on The Fairy Midwife (Wales)
This another story that deals with a lot. An older Midwife is on the blink of breaking; then something strange happens at work. This is definitely on horror side of these stories considering the outcome. 3/5 stars for Poor Sanitation
TW: Drug addiction; Child Neglect; Miscarriage; Infertility; Child Birth; gore; eye lost;

The Droll of The Mermaid by Natasha Carthew, based on The Mermaid and The Man of Cury:
A teenage boy's family have been blessed by a mermaid in the past but have turned selfish with their talent. 3/5 stars for Toxic Masculinity.
TW: Alcohol; Drowning; Drug Addition (referenced);

The Holloway by Imogen Hermes Gowar, based on Old Farmer Mole (Somerset)
This is a new story for this collection. A young girl has been raised on stories about the fae and has reasons to want their help. 4/5 stars for Pony Muck.
TW: Domestic Abuse; Alcoholism; Death of A Parent;

This collection also includes the original tales the story was based on, which I do like because there were stories that I was interested to know the roots of because I wasn't familiar with them at all.

Overall, I give 4/5 stars for Women's Tales. This is an interesting idea and diverse. Some authors really expanded on the idea and others wrote stories almost completely their own thing. Its definitely worth picking up, especially if you're interested in folktales and myths.

I came to this book expecting a great deal and left a little disappointed. In a market crowded with retellings of overlooked, forgotten, or misrepresented myths and fables a collection of similar retellings needs to bring something very impressive to the table. For me, notwithstanding a couple of compelling stories such as 'Sour Hall' and 'The Panther's Tale,' Hag does not do this.

A wonderful short story collection inspired by folktales from around the UK. I wasn't familiar with most of the original folktales so it was good to discover these. The feminist focus of the collection definitely put me in mind of Angela Cater's Book of Fairy Tales.

I have a love of all things folklore and I really like that these have been collected from some of the vaguest of oral tales from up and down the British Iles, including one from Somerset which is close to home and rich in local tales and ghost stories!

I enjoyed the modernist twist on them, and that they were all written by exceptionally talented women - especially given how little some of them had to work with from the originals (and nicely included in the back of the book!)

I was particularly fond of Between Sea and Sky (based on the Great Silkie of Sule Skerrie) as I have always loved Silkie tales,

I think I would like to see these tales elaborated on in their own time period too, maybe that can be a second book?!

I would recommend this for anyone who has an interest in native folklore and tales

Dark, potent and uncanny, Hag bursts with the untold stories of our isles, captured in voices as varied as they are vivid.
From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
I found really cool that the other decided to write about the forgotten folk tales. It was interesting to read and to learn more about this topic. The writing is good and the stories mostly well done.
At times, the stories are different and some are not as interesting as others.
On the whole, a good read.