In these three books Susan Price tells every kind of story. Some are traditional and some are invented, but all are written in language that is both rich and plain, both sinewy and lyrical.

Heads and Tales is strong stuff. The severed head of Linnet, the storyteller, accom-panies his children on their search for their grand-mother’s house. It sits on his daughter’s lap and speaks, and what it speaks of is magical. Forbidden Doors warns us about what we might find if we open them. Ghosts and Lies brings together two collections of ghost stories from the Eighties.

Susan Price is an excellent and hitherto under- appreciated writer, and these are some of her best books.