‘And they all lived happily ever after…’ or so we are told in folk and fairy stories when we are young – but then we grow up and realise that life isn’t all roses and happy endings. Life is hard, life is brutal, life is raw and we just have to pick our way through it the best we can.

These traditional folk tales for adults explores the unhappily ever afters we so rarely see in stories. Each tale is expanded and the world built around them, bringing them to life, each posing a different moral question. It’s not all serious, but take heed of the lessons they teach, and use them to avoid an unhappy ever after of your own...

Tom Phillips is a professional storyteller who aims to bring traditional stories to young and old. Whether telling stories to children in a school or adults at a heritage setting, folk tales are a constant. He has appeared on several podcasts discussing them and, in 2023, led a panel discussion about the importance of folk tales at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. He is the author of Leicestershire Folk Tales for Children and Forest Folk Tales for Children, both published by The History Press.