English Folk Tales of Coast and Sea

Lisa Schneidau retells traditional folk tales from England’s coasts and seas, where human life meets the salt water and the unknown lies beneath the waves. The collection brings together stories shaped by the country’s maritime heritage and long relationship with the ocean.

Dragons and other monsters appear alongside sailor heroes, ghost ships, mermaids and shapeshifters. These tales range across coastal England, presenting its shores as places of danger, transformation and uncanny possibility. Schneidau gives older stories a contemporary twist while retaining their connections to local tradition, seafaring culture and the natural world. The result is a varied gathering of maritime folklore, balancing familiar legendary figures with lesser-known accounts from England’s coastal regions.