Lake of Shadows

A plaintive and vivid retelling of the tale of the Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach, the remote and bottomless lake of shadows in Camarthenshire. A young farmer falls in love with a woman who emerges from the lake, and persuades her with a gift of bread to marry him. Her dowry is a herd of animals which follow her from the depths, but the groom is warned that if he strike his bride thrice, he will lose everything. You can probably work out what happens next.

Doyle’s text carries the rhythms of the oral storytelling tradition from which this tale is drawn: romantically tinged but clear and conversational. Jones’ pictures present a pastel Arcadia which blurs into the submerged perils of the supernatural; the scenes of the lovers on the margin of the two worlds are particularly poignant. This combination provides a very attractive and enjoyable book.