Enjoyable, but doesn't get you very far
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The saving of this book is that it does lacks the confidence of some others when presenting ropy generalisations about 'the Celts' and other vaguely defined groups. It is never sanctimonious. Clearly a labour of love, rather than the result of incisive research, it beats gently around the bush, offering a series of digressions on why the Green Man might be like absolutely every other mythical figure or archetype, with one or two typo howlers as noted in the previous review. Yes, the fantasy illustrations are also wonderful, and a pity the budget didn't run to colour for all of them.
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Disapointing
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Having an interest in the Green Man, I thought that this book would make a worthwhile addition to my collection of books. Needless to say, I was disapointed.
The book has a number errors which should not have got into the published work. On the section dealing with the death of Robin Hood, he mentions Kirklees Priory which he says is near Peterborough. I live in Kirklees and it is in West Yorkshire, nowhere near Peterborough. Another error is where he mentions the era after 1066 being 'Mormon' and not Norman. Another error is where he mentions Iris Murdoch's book The Green Knight, he calls her Irish Murdoch. Where were the proof readers for this publication? Other errors include him saying that the Green Man is not seen on baptismal fonts and in stained glass windows. I have another book about the Green Man and a photo is shown of a Green Man carved on a baptismal font and another photo shows a Green Man on a stained glass window of a church in Switzerland.
The saving grace for this book which stopped me from giving it 1 star, are the fantasy illustrations. Talking of illustrations, there isn't a single photograph of the many Green Men that he describes in the prose. he goes into great detail about the Green Man in Rosslyn Chapel, but it would have been nice to see an actual photo of him.
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