Drawing from two medieval Welsh manuscripts with roots dating back many centuries earlier, this series of 11 stories sheds light on Celtic mythology and Arthurian romance while providing a new perspective on Great Britain itself. From enchantment and shapeshifting to the age-old dichotomies of conflict versus peacemaking and love versus betrayal, all of these tales are uniquely reinvented, creating fresh, contemporary narratives that portray the real world as much as they depict the past. Based on the fable of Branwen, Daughter of Llyr, this interpretation revives one of the most action-packed stories in the whole myth cycle. Moving this bloodthirsty tale of Welsh and Irish power struggles and family tensions into the 21st century, this retelling retains many of the bizarre and magical happenings of the original. After being wounded in Italy, Matthew O’Connell is seeing out WWII in an obscure government department, spreading rumors and myths to the enemy. When he is assigned the bizarre task of escorting a box containing six raven chicks from a remote hill farm to the Tower of London, he soon finds himself ensnared in an adventure that leaves him powerless.

Drawing from two medieval Welsh manuscripts with roots dating back many centuries earlier, this series of 11 stories sheds light on Celtic mythology and Arthurian romance while providing a new perspective on Great Britain itself. From enchantment and shapeshifting to the age-old dichotomies of conflict versus peacemaking and love versus betrayal, all of these tales are uniquely reinvented, creating fresh, contemporary narratives that portray the real world as much as they depict the past. Recast from the medieval tale of Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed, a young Welsh king who dreams of escaping the burdens of his throne, this fantasy is set in a post–oil economy of the near future. This time Pwyll becomes the rebellious son of a wealthy family who sinks into the same murder and mayhem as his prototype. Embracing the simple pleasures and shorter work week available in this petroleum-free environment, Pwyl surfs whenever he wants and rides to his office on horseback down what was once a freeway. However, human nature has not changed, and what was called magic in the old story becomes clinical depression in this one—Pwyll spirals into chaos as he murders his future wife’s fiancé, loses his only son, and switches beds with the king of the underworld.

A dangerous tale of desire, DNA, incest and flowers plays out within the wreckage of an ancient spaceship in The Meat Tree: an absorbing retelling of one of the best-known Welsh myths by prize-winning writer and poet, Gwyneth Lewis. An elderly investigator and his female apprentice hope to extract the fate of the ship's crew from its antiquated virtual reality game system, but their empirical approach falters as the story tangles with their own imagination. By imposing a distance of another 200 years and millions of light years between the reader and the medieval myth, Gwyneth Lewis brings the magical tale of Blodeuwedd, a woman made of flowers, closer than ever before: maybe uncomfortably so. After all, what man has any idea how sap burns in the veins of a woman?

Iraq-bound young squaddie Ronnie takes something dodgy and falls asleep for three nights in a filthy hovel where he has the strangest of dreams. He watches the tattoed tribes of modern Britain assemble to speak with a grinning man playing war games. Arthurian legend merges with its twenty-first century counterpart in a biting commentary on leadership, individualism and the divisions in British society. Meanwhile Cardiff gansta Max is fed up with life in his favourite nightclub, Rome, and chases a vision of the perfect woman in far flung parts of his country.

Cilydd's wife Goleuddydd, who is nine months pregnant, seems to vanish into thin air at a supermarket one wintry afternoon. Cilydd convinces his cousin, Arthur—a private eye who has never solved a single case—to help him with the investigation. So begins a tale of intrigue and confusion that concludes with a wild boar chase and a dangerous journey to the House of the Missing. Transforming a medieval Welsh Arthurian myth into a 21st-century quest, this is a lyrical look at love, grief, and father-son relationships set in a land that is at once contemporary and mystical.

Drawing from two medieval Welsh manuscripts with roots dating back many centuries earlier, this series of 11 stories sheds light on Celtic mythology and Arthurian romance while providing a new perspective on Great Britain itself. From enchantment and shapeshifting to the age-old dichotomies of conflict versus peacemaking and love versus betrayal, all of these tales are uniquely reinvented, creating fresh, contemporary narratives that portray the real world as much as they depict the past. The Welsh myth of brothers Lludd and Llefelys transforms into that of Ludo and Levello in this modern retelling, in which Wales and Pakistan are the only countries left in the free world. England is now a defeated archipelago, but somewhere in the higher ground to the far west, insurrection is brewing. Ludo and Levello are the self-styled kings of Wales, and they are taking prisoners, but can they free the British Isles without the help of Islamic princess Uzma and the power of Pakistan? Set in a land that is at once contemporary and mystical, this narrative offers a lyrical look at love, grief, and familial relationships.

Small-minded, malicious academic Dr. Llwyd McNamara has a grant to research the rugby player known as Big M, one of Wales’ biggest heroes. However, as he does research in his office, McNamara quickly discovers a link between rugby star Dylan Manawyddan Jones, the tragic accident that killed his brother Ben, and his own life: the luxurious yet strange Hotel Corvo on the west Wales coast. Even more curious is that McNamara’s rival claims there is an association between rugby and the Celtic myths of the past, leading him to question whether it is just an outlandish theory or something more. Written with ingenuity and intelligence, this unique retelling of the Third Branch of the Mabinogion: Manawydan, Son of Lyr is a hugely enjoyable tale.

The eighth installment in the New Stories from the Mabinogion series transforms a classic tale into a modern Quixotian romp. The original Peredur tale recounts the adventures of a youth bent on recognition as a knight in King Arthur’s court. In true questing fashion, he defends maidens, defeats giants, and eventually overcomes the witches who have cursed him. Hoping to save him from the same fate as his father and brothers—dead, jailed, or missing—Peredur’s mother takes him from the estates. But the world won’t be held at bay in this version; when local kids cycle into his life, he follows.

Fountainville is a strange, lonely town on the edge of everywhere, with its own healing secrets, as revealed by Luna, assistant to Begum, the Lady of the Fountain, in this retelling of celtic Mabinogion myth by poet and novelist Tishani Doshi. Under their care the town flourishes, but when the mysterious Mr Knight arrives at their house of 24 women everything begins to change. Aided by Rafi, the giant of the woods and the all-action Leo, events begin to unravel fast for Luna and Begum.

When her mother dies, little Enid must stay with her posh relations, the Erbins, in their mansion. Enid finds herself having to rely on her native wit, and mother's advice, to survive Uncle Horace, Aunty Celia and, above all, their teenage son Geraint. Trezza Azzopardi was born in Cardiff. The Hiding Place (Picador, 2001; ISBN 9780330480413) won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. The book was also adapted for Radio 4's Book at Bedtime. Her other Picador novels are Remember Me (2005; ISBN 9780330493468), Winterton Blue (2008; ISBN 9780330493482) and The Song House (2011; ISBN 9780330461047). She lectures at UEA in Norwich.