Jacqueline Simpson (born 1930) is a prolific, award-winning

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

researcher and author on

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

.Jacqueline Simpson
,

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

and

Medieval Icelandic Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Due to being a West Scandinavian language, it is most closely re ...

Bedford College, University of London Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a lead ...

. She has been, at various times, Editor, Secretary, and President of the

Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a national association in the United Kingdom for the study of folklore. It was founded in London in 1878 to study traditional vernacular culture, including traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts an ...

. She was awarded the Society's Coote Lake Research Medal in 2008. In 2010 she was appointed Visiting Professor of Folklore at the Sussex Centre of Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy at the

University of Chichester , mottoeng = By teaching, we learn , type = Public , established = 2005 , administrative_staff = 600 , vice_chancellor = Jane Longmore , city = Chichester, West Sussex , country = England, UK ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. She has a particular interest in local legends (as opposed to international

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

s), and has published collections of this genre from Iceland, Scandinavia in general, and England (the latter in collaboration with the late

Jennifer Westwood Jennifer Westwood (5 January 1940 – 12 May 2008) was a British author, broadcaster and folklorist. She was a Doctor of Philosophy with special interests in English Language, Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse. Her first book, ''Mediaeval Tales'', was pu ...

). She has also written on the

of various English regions, and was co-author with

Steve Roud Steve Roud (; born 1949) is the creator of the Roud Folk Song Index and an expert on folklore and superstition. He was formerly Local Studies Librarian for the London Borough of Croydon and Honorary Librarian of the Folklore Society. Life and c ...

of the ''Penguin Dictionary of English Folklore''. She has been a point of reference for

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

since he met her at a book signing in 1997. Pratchett, who was then researching his novel ''

Carpe Jugulum ''Carpe Jugulum'' (; Latatian for "seize the throat", cf. ''Carpe diem'') is a comic fantasy novel by English writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-third in the ''Discworld'' series. It was first published in 1998. In ''Carpe Jugulum'', Terry Pra ...

'', was asking everyone in the queue how many "

magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

" rhymes they knew; and while most people gave one answer –

the theme ''The Theme'' (russian: Тема, Tema) is a 1979 Soviet comedy film directed by Gleb Panfilov. It tells the story of an egotistical playwright who thinks of himself as an artist, but who allows the system to make him write conformist plays. Th ...

from the TV series ''

Magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

'' – Simpson was able to supply considerably more. According to Pratchett's version of their conversation, there were "about nineteen", but she suspects this is creative embroidery. Their encounter eventually led to collaboration.Pratchett, T. & Simpson, J. '' The Folklore of Discworld'', Introduction by Terry Pratchett. Transworld Publishers, 2008

Personal life

Simpson lives in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Selected publications

Articles

* Simpson, Jacqueline (1966-03-01). "Otherworld Adventures in an Icelandic Saga". ''Folklore''. 77 (1): 1–20. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1967-09-01). "Some Scandinavian Sacrifices". ''Folklore''. 78 (3): 190–202. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1969-06-01). "Legends of Chanctonbury Ring". ''Folklore''. 80 (2): 122–131. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1973-09-01). "Sussex Local Legends". ''Folklore''. 84 (3): 206–223. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1974-03-01). "The Function of Folklore in 'Jane Eyre' and 'Wuthering Heights'". ''Folklore''. 85 (1): 47–61. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1975-09-01). "Nixon's Prophecies in Their Historical Setting". ''Folklore''. 86 (3–4): 201–207. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1978-01-01). "Fifty British Dragon Tales: An Analysis". ''Folklore''. 89 (1): 79–93. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1979-01-01). "'Wændel' and the Long Man of Wilmington". ''Folklore''. 90 (1): 25–28. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1981-01-01). "Rationalized Motifs in Urban Legends". ''Folklore''. 92 (2): 203–207. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1982-01-01). "Obituary: Peter Mason Opie, M.A. (1918–1982)". ''Folklore''. 93 (2): 223–223. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1983-01-01). "Obituary: Professor William R. Bascom (1912–1981)". ''Folklore''. 94 (2): 251–251. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1985-01-01). "Obituary: Georges Henri Rivière, 1897–1985". ''Folklore''. 96 (2): 255–255. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1986-01-01). "God's visible judgements: the Christian dimension of landscape legends". ''Landscape History''. 8 (1): 53–58. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1989-01-01). "Folklore in Folklore: Trends Since 1959". ''Folklore''. 100 (1): 3–8. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1991-01-01). "'Be Bold, but not Too Bold': Female Courage in Some British and Scandinavian Legends". ''Folklore''. 102 (1): 16–30. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1994-01-01). "Margaret Murray: Who Believed Her, and Why?". ''Folklore''. 105 (1–2): 89–96. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1995-01-01). ""The Weird Sisters Wandering": Burlesque Witchery in Montgomerie's Flyting". ''Folklore''. 106 (1–2): 9–20. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1995-01-01). "Ellen Ettlinger, 1902–1994". ''Folklore''. 106 (1–2): 86–86. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1996-01-01). "Witches and Witchbusters". ''Folklore''. 107 (1–2): 5–18. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1997-01-01). ""The Rules of Folklore" in the Ghost Stories of M.R. James". ''Folklore''. 108 (1–2): 9–18. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (2006-01-01). "Boundaries for Ghosts: A Technique in Folk Exorcism". ''Folk Life''. 45 (1): 70–76. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (2003-03-01). "Repentant soul or walking corpse? Debatable apparitions in medieval England". ''Folklore''. 114 (3): 389–402. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (2005-08-01). "The Miller's Tomb: Facts, Gossip, and Legend". ''Folklore''. 116 (2): 189–200. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (2006-08-01). "Hilda Ellis Davidson (1914–2006)". ''Folklore''. 117 (2): 215–216. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (2008-08-01). "Seeking the Lore of the Land". ''Folklore''. 119 (2): 131–141. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (2011-04-01). "On the Ambiguity of Elves". ''Folklore''. 122 (1): 76–83. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (2015-05-04). "Sir Terry Pratchett OBE (1948–2015)". ''Folklore''. 126 (2): 232–234. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (2017-07-03). "Venetia Newall (1935–2017)". ''Folklore''. 128 (3): 316–317. . .

Books

* Simpson, Jacqueline (1965). ''The Northmen Talk. A Choice of Tales from Iceland'', Phoenix House/Dent, & University of Wisconsin Press * Simpson, Jacqueline (1965). ''The Northmen talk. A choice of tales from Iceland. Translated and with introduction by Jacqueline Simpson, with a foreword by

Eric Linklater Eric Robert Russell Linklater CBE (8 March 1899 – 7 November 1974) was a Welsh-born Scottish poet, fiction writer, military historian, and travel writer. For ''The Wind on the Moon'', a children's fantasy novel, he won the 1944 Carnegie Meda ...

''. London; Madison: Phoenix House ; University of Wisconsin Press. . * Garmonsway, George Norman; Simpson, Jacqueline (1968). ''Beowulf and its analogues. Translated by G. N. Garmonsway and Jacqueline Simpson. Including Archaeology and Beowulf by Hilda Ellis Davidson. With plates''. London; New York: J. M. Dent & Sons ; E. P. Dutton & Co. . * Partridge, Eric; Simpson, Jacqueline (1972). ''The Penguin dictionary of historical slang''. Harmondsworth. Penguin Books. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline; Galsworthy, Gay (1973). ''The folklore of Sussex''. London: Batsford. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1976). ''The folklore of the Welsh border''. London: B.T. Batsford. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1980). ''British dragons''. London: Batsford. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline; Wilson, Eva (1987)''. Everyday life in the Viking age.'' New York: Dorset Press. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (1987). ''European mythology. New York: P. Bedrick Books. . .'' * Simpson, Jacqueline; Gowdy, Caroline (1989). ''Scandinavian Folktales'' (Penguin Folklore Library / Puffin) * Simpson, Jacqueline; Roud, Stephen (2003). ''A dictionary of English folklore''. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. . . * Simpson, Jacqueline (2004) ''Icelandic Folktales and Legends'' (Revealing History) 2nd ed., NPI Media Group, * Simpson, Jacqueline; Westwood, Jennifer. (2005; reissued 2006). ''The Lore of the Land: a Guide to England's Legends, from Spring-heeled Jack to the Witches of Warboys,'' Penguin * '' The Folklore of Discworld'' (with Terry Pratchett), Doubleday (2008) . 2nd, enlarged edition. Corgi 2009 . 3rd enlarged edition, Corgi (2014) (same ISBN as 2nd edition) * Simpson, Jacqueline (2010). ''Elves: nasty or nice?''. Wincanton, Somerset: Discworld Emporium :. . * Simpson, Jacqueline (2010). ''Green Men and White Swans: the Folklore of British Pub Names'', Random House Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Jacqueline 1930 births Living people Folklore writers English folklorists Women folklorists Alumni of Bedford College, London Old Norse studies scholars Germanic studies scholars Writers on Germanic paganism Presidents of the Folklore Society 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers 21st-century English women writers