Professor Ronald Hutton, perhaps this country’s foremost authority on the history of the druids, has produced two books on the subject in the last two years. Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain (which follows 2008’s The Druids: a History), charts the story of the historians and others who made and remade the idea of the druids according to their own perceptions and requirements. Most notorious among these was Iolo Morganwg, who successfully forged and passed off druid-filled texts to fill what he saw as gaps in Welsh ancient history.

A full review by Dr Adam Stout is now available on Reviews in History, alongside a reply by the author.