Horatio Clare – who surely had to be an author with a name as good as that – makes a fantastic start retelling his choice of myths from the two pointiest counties of Wales in Pembrokeshire and Gwynedd Myths & Legends. Satan The Ape Of Barbery is a brilliantly recounted legend of a primate imprisoned in Carew Castle: the stuff of Sinbad or The Princess Bride, with an almost Game Of Thrones feel to the violence. 

But the following tales, such as Eleanor’s Gyrfalcon and William Marshall, don’t quite come alive in the same way. Perhaps Satan just provided better material for Clare to work with, and maybe Princes Nest’s story just isn’t as interesting. But the tone of most of the myths is just too prosaic – giving the collection a slightly textbook vibe that I doubt was intended.

Jane Matthews’ illustrations add a flash of colour, and bring a nice sense of consistency to the collection. Once a resident of Skomer, Matthews also collaborated with Clare on their brilliant first children’s book Aubrey And The Terrible Yoot.

These tales, however, don’t quite sing in the same way; attempts to update the tone and show a different perspective come across as a little clumsy. A helpful collection with an attention-grabbing opening, the standard of which is not quite met throughout.