The Dead of Winter is a well-researched book about the origins and morphology of winter mythology and folklore that’s separated into sections that make the book entertaining and easy to take in a little bit at a time. Sarah Clegg’s writing is delightful when she’s writing about saints and monsters (and her love of the subject matter is evident throughout the book), but she often comes across as overly sentimental in the prologue, at the close of each section, and in the book’s epilogue. I loved that she kept the length of this book shorter than most books on mythology and folklore tend to be, because subjects like this can get dry easily and this is much more market-friendly. 

 

I’ve always loved folktales and mythology and during college developed a love for learning about how stories morph and migrate. Clegg does an impeccable job of identifying modern stories, breaking them down into parts, and tracing their origins back as far as possible. The material was not only interesting, but fun. 

 

I was provided a copy of this title by the publisher and author via Netgalley. Thanks to Algonquin Books for providing me with a physical ARC of this title. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. 

 

File Under: History/Nonfiction