Finding Albion
Myth, Folklore and the Quest for a Hidden Britain
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Hodder & Stoughton
Publishing:19th Mar '26
£22.50 was £25.00
This title is due to be published on 19th March, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
'I've been waiting for a book like this' Florence Welch
Zakia Sewell is on a quest for another Britain. Traversing the length and breadth of our island from Somerset to Scotland, she's seeking out a different story - one that lies beyond divisive national myths and symbols.
In Finding Albion, Zakia uncovers an alternative spirit of Britain that is vividly alive today. It is found in otherworldly folk songs, ancient legends, Celtic seasonal rites and mystic stone circles that punctuate our landscape. Her journey begins as the sun rises on the spring equinox over Glastonbury Tor, where she meets neopagans reclaiming traditions from our pre-Christian past. At summer's peak at Notting Hill Carnival she hears cultural echoes that passed along the slave trade routes from the Caribbean. On All Hallow's Eve she encounters the ghosts of Empire that are still haunting the nation, and in the depths of a Cornish winter she asks if today's new folk revival could unite our increasingly divided country?
Finding Albion brings a hopeful story of Britain out from the shadows, giving us a deeper sense of who we are, and heralding the promise of a brighter future.
I've been waiting for a book like this. -- Florence Welch
Finding Albion offers up much needed alternative national identities and stories for us to keep close and cherish. Its a timely book that helps us consider who we are and more importantly where we are going. -- Jeremy Deller
A timely antidote to toxic national myth-making, Finding Albion complicates and challenges our understanding of the British countryside. Journeying into distant centuries which predate the grand narratives of empire, royalty and nation, Zakia Sewell explores the forgotten worldviews of our distant ancestors, generations who lived close to the land and its seasonal cycles. In doing so, her book transcends small-minded nationalisms to show that otherworldly communion with nature is a global phenomenon, a necessary and timeless desire which can re-enchant and connect us all. -- Professor Corinne Fowler, author of OUR ISLAND STORIES: TEN WALKS THROUGH RURAL BRITAIN AND ITS HIDDEN HISTORY OF EMPIRE.
I love this brilliant quest for the true spirit of Albion, with all its mischief and magic, eccentricity and radicalism. The book's promise that we can all connect with the traditions, rituals, songs and ancient places of our troubled but wondrous land - and through honesty, openness and revelry forge a brighter future together - is truly inspiring and exhilarating. -- Fiona Robertson, author of STONE LANDS: A JOURNEY OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT THROUGH BRITAIN’S ANCIENT PLACES
Finding Albion takes us on a personal, melancholic, but ultimately hopeful quest for an alternative - and more inclusive - spirit of the nation. The reader journeys alongside Sewell, through Albion's diverse landscapes, cultures, and stories, reflecting on how they can unite rather than divide us. -- Dr Ceri Houlbrook, author of FOLKLORE: A JOURNEY THROUGH PAST AND PRESENT
ISBN: 9781399735902
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
288 pages