These are the stories that have been told from the dawn of humanity and handed down, over millennia, to the present day.

From the ancient indigenous narratives of 'The Dreaming' in Australia to the classical founding tales of some of the greatest empires of Western antiquity, these accounts are at once creative works of art as well as valuable sources of early history and sociology.

Terri-ann White has brought together a range of fascinating stories from around the world. Each reflects familiar and universal themes such as humour, fear, lust, familial love, romantic love, mortality, a reverence for the divine, and a preoccupation with the meaning of life.