Books / Childrens

The revival of Goram and Ghyston

By Joanna Papageorgiou  Thursday Nov 20, 2014

There were once two brothers called Goram and Ghyston that ruled the land around Bristol. They, and their pet dragon Digby, liked to fish for whales and chase dinosaurs, until  one day, the brothers met and fell in love with a beautiful Princess called Avona. The Princess set them a task to decide who would win her hand in marriage.

The brothers got to work on the challenge that only one of them could win and so the familiar Bristol landscape that we all know today, slowly began to take shape.

This tale, that would have been demanded for bedtimes 150 years ago, has been brought back to life for Bristol’s children by writer Oliver Rigby with the help of illustrator Tom Bonson. 

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The oldest known version of the legendary giants’ tale can be found in William Camden’s Britannia (1586) followed by Robert Atkyns’ re-telling in the History of Gloucestershire (1712). The original story was re-worked by poet Thomas Chatterton in the late 1760s.

What started as a tale told by Rigby to his eldest son Wilf has become a beautiful story that all can enjoy and with the added treat of opening our eyes to some of Bristol’s most beautiful landscapes and legends. 

The book is available in stores from today, November 20.

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