David Hopkin is Fellow and Tutor in History at Hertford College, Oxford. His research concentrates on the oral and popular cultures of nineteenth-century Europe. He is editor of the journal Cultural and Social History.

'David Hopkin forcefully, sensitively, and effectively, points towards 'oral literature', the folkloric evidence of tales and songs as means of enhancing our understanding of popular culture.' French History

• Introduction: folklore and the historian; 1. Storytelling in a maritime community: Saint-Cast, 1879–82; 2. The sailor's tale: storytelling on board the North Atlantic fishing fleet; 3. Love riddles and family strategies: the Dâyemans of Lorraine; 4. Storytelling and family dynamics in an extended household: the Briffaults of Montigny-aux-Amognes; 5. Work songs and peasant visions of the social order; 6. The visionary world of the Vellave lacemaker; Conclusion: between the micro and the macro; Bibliography.

David Hopkin is Fellow and Tutor in History at Hertford College, Oxford. His research concentrates on the oral and popular cultures of nineteenth-century Europe. He is editor of the journal Cultural and Social History.

'David Hopkin forcefully, sensitively, and effectively, points towards 'oral literature', the folkloric evidence of tales and songs as means of enhancing our understanding of popular culture.' French History

• Introduction: folklore and the historian; 1. Storytelling in a maritime community: Saint-Cast, 1879–82; 2. The sailor's tale: storytelling on board the North Atlantic fishing fleet; 3. Love riddles and family strategies: the Dâyemans of Lorraine; 4. Storytelling and family dynamics in an extended household: the Briffaults of Montigny-aux-Amognes; 5. Work songs and peasant visions of the social order; 6. The visionary world of the Vellave lacemaker; Conclusion: between the micro and the macro; Bibliography.

David Hopkin is Fellow and Tutor in History at Hertford College, Oxford. His research concentrates on the oral and popular cultures of nineteenth-century Europe. He is editor of the journal Cultural and Social History.

'David Hopkin forcefully, sensitively, and effectively, points towards 'oral literature', the folkloric evidence of tales and songs as means of enhancing our understanding of popular culture.' French History

• Introduction: folklore and the historian; 1. Storytelling in a maritime community: Saint-Cast, 1879–82; 2. The sailor's tale: storytelling on board the North Atlantic fishing fleet; 3. Love riddles and family strategies: the Dâyemans of Lorraine; 4. Storytelling and family dynamics in an extended household: the Briffaults of Montigny-aux-Amognes; 5. Work songs and peasant visions of the social order; 6. The visionary world of the Vellave lacemaker; Conclusion: between the micro and the macro; Bibliography.