The Book of Beasts

Wild and strange, and full to the brim with tales from the deep past, offering a meaningful connection to our ancestors. It is a reminder of what we came from and how we might move forwards into the future; a brighter future filled with beasts. An essential for any bestiary or folklore fan – LALLY MACBETH, author of The Lost FolkFolklore, myth and magic collide beautifully in The Book of Beasts – EDWARD PARNELL, author of GhostlandThis beautifully written book considers the relationship between humans and animals through the whole of time and across the planet… [it is] ultimately an examination of the place of humans in the world, past and present – RONALD HUTTON, author of The WitchImmersive, enchanting, and exquisitely written, The Book of Beasts is a clarion call to rethink and rewild our relationship with animals. Prepare to be changed by this magical book – KRISTEN J. SOLLEE, author of Cat Call: Reclaiming the Feral FeminineIn this powerful and beautifully written book, Elizabeth Sulis Kim explores humanity’s relationship with animals across history and cultures. She weaves together archaeology, mythology, religion, ecology, and psychology to show how the stories we create about animals shape our understanding of humanity, and how changing those stories could help change our world – MELANIE JOY, PhD, bestselling author of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear CowsDazzling in range and tender in purpose, The Book of Beasts is an invitation to remember our kinship with the living world. Elizabeth Sulis Kim asks urgent questions with a scholar’s rigour and a storyteller’s heart. It is both confounding and humbling to consider how often humans forget that we belong to nature too – HOLLIE STARLING, editor of Bog PeopleThe Book of Beasts is epic and wise, but also tender and sensitive. From prehistory to the present, through myth and magic to religion and literature, this captivating and highly-original book explores the immense importance of animals across diverse human cultures. With profound reflections about the power of beastly thinking, The Book of Beasts is essential reading for animal lovers everywhere – THOMAS WATERS, author of Cursed Britain: A History of Witchcraft and Black Magic in Modern TimesThis is a beautiful book, and an important one. Elizabeth Sulis Kim reawakens an older way of looking at animals, through stories of reverence and resonance that ask us to reconsider how we interact with the animal kingdom. From stepping among temple rats in Rajasthan to walking the Great Bear Rainforest and making eye contact with whales, the author travels a fascinating pathway across thousands of years of folklore that always has an eye on the world around us today – NICHOLAS JUBBER, author of MonsterlandSprawling and immersive… With great insight and compassion, Elizabeth Sulis Kim makes a case for storytelling as a potent ecological tool that might allow us to cultivate a more sustainable and holistic relationship with the natural world – ROWE IRVIN, author of Life Cycle of a MothA compassionate, clear-sighted and gorgeously written bestiary for the twenty-first century… Kim’s rigorously researched book weaves together a wealth of folkloric and cultural knowledge with a naturalist’s eye for detail, and should be required reading for the Anthropocene – ELIZABETH DEARNLEY, author of Fearsome Fairies: Haunting Tales of the FaeWritten with clarity and quiet force, The Book of Beasts dissolves the boundary between human and animal without sentimentality or simplification. Elizabeth Sulis Kim invites us into a more attentive, more ethical way of seeing – one that could change how we inhabit the world – SHAHRUKH HUSAIN, author of A Restless WindRiveting, insightful and folkloric, this book is a gift for those who seek to deepen their relationship to the natural world… Within its pages, we become Elizabeth Sulis Kim’s familiar, uncovering animal truths, myths and legends at her side, each one revealed by her deft hand – REBECCA FERRIER, author of The Salt BindElizabeth Sulis Kim nudges us to re-enchant the world by recognising the magic and mystery of wild creatures, and through considering if perhaps our shared environment and humanity might be improved if animals were once again seen as sacred living symbols to respect and protect, rather than products on our supermarket shelves… highly captivating, deeply emotional and beautifully nuanced – CHELSEA WOLFEBeautiful and provocative. Anyone who loved animal stories as a child will find this book enchanting. Elizabeth Sulis Kim shows how to think differently about the creatures with whom we share our planet – HENRY MANCE, journalist at Financial Times

Elizabeth Sulis Kim’s writing has appeared in places such as BBC Culture, Mslexia, Hellebore, Fiddler’s Green, Litro, The Guardian, The Independent, Refinery29, and the LA Review of Books.

She is the founding editor of Cunning Folk, the popular independent magazine about magic, mythology, folklore and the occult.

She grew up in the rural West Country and now lives in Scotland.

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