The Folklore of Discworld Audiobook By Terry Pratchett, Jacqueline Simpson cover art

The Folklore of Discworld

Legends, Myths, and Customs from the Discworld with Helpful Hints from Planet Earth

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Folklore of Discworld

By: Terry Pratchett, Jacqueline Simpson
Narrated by: Michael Fenton Stevens
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.25

Buy for $20.25

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Terry Pratchett joins up with a leading folklorist to reveal the legends, myths and customs of Discworld, together with helpful hints from Planet Earth.

Most of us grew up having always known when to touch wood or cross our fingers, and what happens when a princess kisses a frog or a boy pulls a sword from a stone, yet sadly some of these things are beginning to be forgotten. Legends, myths, and fairy tales: Our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and how we got here. It is the same on Discworld, except that beings, which on Earth are creatures of the imagination - like vampires, trolls, witches and, possibly, gods - are real, alive and, in some cases kicking, on the Disc.

In The Folklore of Discworld, Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jacqueline Simpson to take an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated and affectionately libelled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld.

©2014 Terry Pratchett and Jacqueline Simpson (P)2014 Random House Audio Anthologies & Short Stories Classics Fairy Tales Fantasy Fiction Literary History & Criticism Literature & Fiction Magic Social Sciences Tradition Mythology Witty Funny Witchcraft Magic Users Folklore Horror

Critic reviews

“One of the most interesting and critically underrated novelists we have - The Folklore of Discworld - co-authored with the eminent folklorist Jacqueline Simpson - emphasizes his irreverence and drollery.” ( The Times)
“Pratchett is, like Mark Twain or Jonathan Swift, not just a great writer but also an original thinker - funny, exciting, lighthearted and, like all the best comedy, very serious.” ( Guardian)
Fascinating Folklore Connections • Entertaining Comparisons • Fine Narrator • Witty Writing • Humorous Absurdity
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
It was very entertaining to see how the world and customs of Discworld were weaved around true folklore, people's stories with its typical spice of absurdity and humor. And Terry sings us some tunes at the end too!

Safari through Discworld.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Sir Terry sings (+ writes with usual wit & aplomb) - specifically folk songs, and then Shakespeare.

Sir Terry Sings

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
just booked details his interaction with the mythology and folklore of Discworld. It is a fun and interesting look at how he developed it all and what much of it is based on. Final chapter is a audio interview between Terry Pratchett and his folklorist. Lots of fun.

Interesting romp through Terry Pratchet's mind.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Sir Terry and Miss Simpson tells us about the folklore and how it came to be. They also do a wonderful job discussing "urban legends" and how this also becomes folklore. It's truly interesting and displays why history is important. After all if you don't know your origins, how will you know your destination?

very interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So, if you've reached the point where you've read and/or listened to all the Discworld books and The Long Earth books, but you need more Pratchett, this is a good book.

Actually, my daughter kept commenting that it sounded like Harry Potter. She's right in that the stories that helped build the Discworld are the same ones that support the stories in Rowling's world, and probably others, for that matter.

The book is enjoyable and interesting, though I'm not sure I'd recommend it to someone who hasn't read many Discworld books.

If you've read all the Discworld books

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was amazing it was interesting to hear about our folklore and it's comparative discworld equivalents! I highly recommend it for old fans and newcomers!

Amazing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have been listening to the various Discworld series and they continue to
delight me.

Love hearing the backstory of Discworld!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
...once with the trick, and twice with the trickery.

Sir Pterry enlists the aid of folklorist Jacqueline Simpson to explore the Roundworld references and inspirations from "when things were otherwise" drawn into the Discworld series.

Why must there be three witches?
How did the fifth elephant collide with the Disc?
What is a Pictsie?

A great spin on the Science of Discworld series. While I partly wish that it had the same interleaved narrative/explanation structure, it's more the co-narrator Stephen Briggs that I wish would have carried over. Michael Fenton Stevens is a fine narrator, but feels more highbrow than is appropriate for Sir Pterry's folksy exposé.

The illusionist entertains you twice...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As one who has read virtually all, if not all of the disc world novels and stories, I enjoyed revisiting the characters and stories, in the context of how they relate to folklore on our planet.

Entertaining comparisons: Discworld vs Earth

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I wasted a credit on this. It is just a rambling rehash of snippets of Terry's books mixed with superficial versions of actual human folklore. I am not impressed with this.

Just a rambling rehash

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews