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Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms And Superstitions Of Ireland
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First published May 19, 2009
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About the author
Jane Francesca Wilde
104 books24 followersJane Francesca Agnes, Lady Wilde (born Jane Francesca Elgee in Dublin) was an Irish poet under the pen name "Speranza" and supporter of the nationalist movement; and had a special interest in Irish Fairy Tales, which she helped to gather. She married Sir William Wilde on 12 November 1851,
Mother of Oscar Wilde.
Mother of Oscar Wilde.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 1, 2016
Absolutely charming collection of 19th Century Irish fairy lore. Really hits its groove when it settles into a tone of campfire-tale creepiness about halfway through:
Can be read online at Sacred Texts.
A young girl from Innis-Sark had a lover, a fine young fellow, who met his death by an accident, to her great grief and sorrow.
One evening at sunset, as she sat by the roadside, crying her eyes out, a beautiful lady came by all in white, and tapped her on the cheek.
'Don't cry, Kathleen,' she said, 'your lover is safe. Just take this ring of herbs and look through it and you will see him. He is with a grand company, and wears a golden circlet on his head and a scarlet sash round his waist.'
So Kathleen took the ring of herbs and looked through it, and there indeed was her lover in the midst of a great company dancing on the hill; and he was very pale, but handsomer than ever, with the gold circlet round his head, as if they had made him a prince.
'Now,' said the lady, 'here is a larger ring of herbs. Take it, and whenever you want to see your lover, pluck a leaf from it and burn it; and a great smoke will arise, and you will fall into a trance; and in the trance your lover will carry you away to the fairy rath, and there you may dance all night with him on the greensward. But say no prayer, and make no sign of the cross while the smoke is rising, or your lover will disappear for ever.'
From that time a great change came over Kathleen. She said no prayer, and cared for no priest, and never made the sign of the cross, but every night shut herself up in her room, and burned a leaf of the ring of herbs as she had been told; and when the smoke arose she fell into a deep sleep and knew no more. But in the morning she told her people that, though she seemed to be lying in her bed, she was far away with the fairies on the hill dancing with her lover. And she was very happy in her new life, and wanted no priest nor prayer nor mass any more, and all the dead were there dancing with the rest, all the people she had known; and they welcomed her and gave her wine to drink in little crystal cups, and told her she must soon come and stay with them and with her lover for evermore.
Now Kathleen's mother was a good, honest, religious woman, and she fretted much over her daughter's strange state, for she knew the girl had been fairy-struck. So she determined to watch; and one night when Kathleen went to her bed as usual all alone by herself in the room, for she would allow no one to be with her, the mother crept up and looked through a chink in the door, and then she saw Kathleen take the round ring of herbs from a secret place in the press and pluck a leaf from it and burn it, on which a great smoke arose and the girl fell on her bed in a deep trance.
Now the mother could no longer keep silence, for she saw there was devil's work in it; and she fell on her knees and prayed aloud --
'O Maia, mother, send the evil spirit away from the child!' And she rushed into the room and made the sign of the cross over the sleeping girl, when immediately Kathleen started up and screamed --
'Mother! mother! the dead are coming for me. They are here! they are here!'
And her features looked like one in a fit. Then the poor mother sent for the priest, who came at once, and threw holy water on the girl, and said prayers over her; and he took the ring of herbs that lay beside her and cursed it for evermore, and instantly it fell to powder and lay like grey ashes on the floor. After this Kathleen grew calmer, and the evil spirit seemed to have left her, but she was too weak to move or to speak, or to utter a prayer, and before the clock struck twelve that night she lay dead.
Can be read online at Sacred Texts.
February 21, 2017
Siia raamatusse on kokku koondatud Iirimaa haldjalegendide baas, ma ütleks. Seetõttu meenutas ka väga meie enda rahva hulgas levinud legende, eriti aga just jutustamise stiili poolest :)
Küll aga leidsin siit raamatust päris mitmeid põnevaid infokilde, millega varem pole kokku puutunud.
Nagu näiteks:
- "Seda kuuldes langes haldjakuningas sügavasse nukrameelsusesse, käskis kogu oma õukonnal Iirimaalt minema seilata ja naasis oma kodumaale Armeeniasse, et seal kohutava viimse kohtupäeva saabumist oodata, mis oli määratud tooma haldjasoole kindlat surma maa peal ja jätma nad ilma igasugusest lootusest taevasse tagasi pääseda."
Ausalt öeldes polnud mul aimugi, et haldjad, oma maapealse elu igavikulisuses, on siia tulnud samuti seetõttu, et on taevast langenud inglid ning et viimsel kohtupäeval tabab neid jäädav lõpp. Sellest enam aga tekitas minus küsimusi fakt, et nad on pärit Armeeniast?! :o
Võib-olla ühel päeval uurin seda liini lähemalt edasi, et mis värk sellega siis ikkagi on...
Ja veel üks põnev ajalooline areng/seos:
- "Shiloh-Van oli üks Buddha nimedest - "naise poeg" - ja mõned autorid kinnitavad, et iirikeelne Sullivan (sulli-van) võib olla pärit sellest iidsest Buddha nimest."
Igal juhul huvitav lugemine. Kellele legendid ja pärimused huvi pakuvad, siis kindlasti meeldib talle ka see teos :)
Küll aga leidsin siit raamatust päris mitmeid põnevaid infokilde, millega varem pole kokku puutunud.
Nagu näiteks:
- "Seda kuuldes langes haldjakuningas sügavasse nukrameelsusesse, käskis kogu oma õukonnal Iirimaalt minema seilata ja naasis oma kodumaale Armeeniasse, et seal kohutava viimse kohtupäeva saabumist oodata, mis oli määratud tooma haldjasoole kindlat surma maa peal ja jätma nad ilma igasugusest lootusest taevasse tagasi pääseda."
Ausalt öeldes polnud mul aimugi, et haldjad, oma maapealse elu igavikulisuses, on siia tulnud samuti seetõttu, et on taevast langenud inglid ning et viimsel kohtupäeval tabab neid jäädav lõpp. Sellest enam aga tekitas minus küsimusi fakt, et nad on pärit Armeeniast?! :o
Võib-olla ühel päeval uurin seda liini lähemalt edasi, et mis värk sellega siis ikkagi on...
Ja veel üks põnev ajalooline areng/seos:
- "Shiloh-Van oli üks Buddha nimedest - "naise poeg" - ja mõned autorid kinnitavad, et iirikeelne Sullivan (sulli-van) võib olla pärit sellest iidsest Buddha nimest."
Igal juhul huvitav lugemine. Kellele legendid ja pärimused huvi pakuvad, siis kindlasti meeldib talle ka see teos :)
July 25, 2013
As an aspiring author, I find that familiarity with those ancient stories lying sleeping within the collective human consciousness lends an air of credibility to one's characters, who otherwise might be rendered one dimensional. So too do legends and fairy tales ignite the imagination and lead down paths we may otherwise never have noticed; the tick tack tick tack of the leprechaun mending shoes under a dock leaf breaking on our ears. Should we be curious enough to seek him out, and he be of a happy mood, we may come away with a pot of gold for our efforts.
August 10, 2024
I would have given this 3 stars if I didn’t enjoy the Irish history so much. I thought the beginning connected Persia, Egypt and Greece to Irish culture very well and enjoyed the tales. However, the organization was lacking and by the end I felt I was rereading tales or reading ones that belonged in other sections. Great read for those interested in folklore.
March 6, 2009
An amazing collection of 19th century tales collected by Oscar Wilde's mother from the mouths of the Irish peasantry around her estate. Whether you are more amazed that Oscar had a mother, or that she willingly learned Irish to collect these tales, is your call.
December 26, 2021
These folk tales were collected by Oscar Wilde’s mother, Lady Wilde. I can imagine families gathered around a winter fire, listening to these tall tales grow taller and more fantastic with every retelling.
July 11, 2025
wow they really didn’t like cats huh
May 7, 2017
Tore raamat legendidest ja uskumustest. Iirlased usuvad tänapäevani haldjatesse ja suhtuvad neisse suure ligupidamise ning austusega.
Iirimaal on üks kiirtee, kus tehti miljoneid lisakulutusi, et tee ümber haldjapuu ehitada. Ei tulnud kõne allagi, et see puu maha võtta :)
Hea raamat kõigile, kes usuvad natuke maagiasse ja võlujõudu.
Iirimaal on üks kiirtee, kus tehti miljoneid lisakulutusi, et tee ümber haldjapuu ehitada. Ei tulnud kõne allagi, et see puu maha võtta :)
Hea raamat kõigile, kes usuvad natuke maagiasse ja võlujõudu.
November 10, 2016
Hace unos meses leí el tomo de Atalanta "Mitologías" de Yeats. Quede tan encantada por el universo mitológico irlandés, la franqueza de la recopilación que se nutre de las múltiples voces de un pueblo con una sensibilidad imaginativa que roza lo místico, que no solo busque otros tomos relacionados con el tema, sino que en mi surgió, inexplicablemente, cierta credulidad, pequeña, microscópicamente monstruosa, pero el inicio de un posible frente contra el escepticismo reglado que viene con la razón, mito naturalizado de nuestra contemporaneidad por el gran folclorista Descartes y sus secuaces.
Este libro, que en mi caso fue editado por Siruela en su colección de cuentos clásicos de diferentes nacionalidades, agrupa diversos recopiladores. Entre ellos me encontré con varios relatos agrupados por Yeats, que leí, nuevamente, con el placer infantil que produce la repetición. Pero tambien hay varios literatos, políglotas de gran inteligencia y lucidez, como Curtin o como la propia madre de Oscar Wilde, Lady Wilde, quien recopilo los testimonios y los cuentos de múltiples pobladores que ofrecían, ante el interés de su esposo, el señor Wilde, que era medico, historias a cambio de consultas clínicas.
Los relatos estan divididos en subcategorias propias de la colección de siruela. Se ofrecen, entre otros, aquellos que hacen a la saga de Finn Mac Cumhaull, de ingenio, de gracia, del reino de las hadas, etc. Puntualizando sobre todo la aparición de ciertos personajes clásicos, como pueden ser las viejas encantadas de hipertrofiados dientes, o la amenaza de los ejércitos negros, la costumbre de los duendes de simular la muerte de los humanos que les gustan, la confrontación de la irlanda católica y la irlanda pagana.
Realmente, sumirse en el imaginario de un pueblo siempre es una experiencia increíble. Y el de irlanda posee un encanto adicional- hay algo de testimonio en cada una de sus mitologías. Y ese testimonio de la divinidad está intrínsecamente relacionado con el poder de la palabra. La vida de los seres mágicos depende de ella, y a partir de tan intimo acuerdo, tambien la de las gentes que creen y dicen sobre ellas, que por tal motivo se guardan de pronunciar ciertas palabras, de llamarlas con ciertos apodos benéficos. Hay una retroalimentación de la creencia, un crecimiento dual. No son simples supersticiones. Mas bien, es el sustento poético y el ingenio de un pueblo que decide construir su historia, su paisaje, a través del lenguaje, permitiéndose todo exceso- incluso el de la invención, el de la renovacion, el de la creación. Mediante sus historias, el pueblo crea su propio espíritu, su propia mirada al universo que lo rodea- y esta mirada prevalece en la oralidad, en el afecto que concentra la palabra, monumento perpetuo, mascara en la que se condensan los rostros de millares de generaciones. Por ello, cuando los recopiladores como Yeats, como Lady Wilde iban a los poblados buscando a los cantores, a los maestros, aquellos en los que aún prevalecían fragmentos de tradicion, escuchaban la lenta agonia de un culto que era imprescindible para cierto orden de las cosas. La agonia lenta, e irrefrenable, de uno de los pocos ritos que merecían ser salvados. Por que en toda su malignidad, en toda su advertencia, se cristalizaba cierta redención, cierto poder compartido con respecto al lenguaje, cierto apoderamiento de las percepciones, un marco mas flexible que el de la razón con el cual dar cuerpo a las impresiones que nos sacuden, un cuerpo bello, poético, y que merece ser perpetuado por las voces de toda una generación que espera en ronda, atenta, siempre a punto de escucharnos.
Pd- por otra parte, Debo de ser descendiente de Finn Mac Cumhaill, por como me como las uñas, como si intentase llegar a la médula.
Este libro, que en mi caso fue editado por Siruela en su colección de cuentos clásicos de diferentes nacionalidades, agrupa diversos recopiladores. Entre ellos me encontré con varios relatos agrupados por Yeats, que leí, nuevamente, con el placer infantil que produce la repetición. Pero tambien hay varios literatos, políglotas de gran inteligencia y lucidez, como Curtin o como la propia madre de Oscar Wilde, Lady Wilde, quien recopilo los testimonios y los cuentos de múltiples pobladores que ofrecían, ante el interés de su esposo, el señor Wilde, que era medico, historias a cambio de consultas clínicas.
Los relatos estan divididos en subcategorias propias de la colección de siruela. Se ofrecen, entre otros, aquellos que hacen a la saga de Finn Mac Cumhaull, de ingenio, de gracia, del reino de las hadas, etc. Puntualizando sobre todo la aparición de ciertos personajes clásicos, como pueden ser las viejas encantadas de hipertrofiados dientes, o la amenaza de los ejércitos negros, la costumbre de los duendes de simular la muerte de los humanos que les gustan, la confrontación de la irlanda católica y la irlanda pagana.
Realmente, sumirse en el imaginario de un pueblo siempre es una experiencia increíble. Y el de irlanda posee un encanto adicional- hay algo de testimonio en cada una de sus mitologías. Y ese testimonio de la divinidad está intrínsecamente relacionado con el poder de la palabra. La vida de los seres mágicos depende de ella, y a partir de tan intimo acuerdo, tambien la de las gentes que creen y dicen sobre ellas, que por tal motivo se guardan de pronunciar ciertas palabras, de llamarlas con ciertos apodos benéficos. Hay una retroalimentación de la creencia, un crecimiento dual. No son simples supersticiones. Mas bien, es el sustento poético y el ingenio de un pueblo que decide construir su historia, su paisaje, a través del lenguaje, permitiéndose todo exceso- incluso el de la invención, el de la renovacion, el de la creación. Mediante sus historias, el pueblo crea su propio espíritu, su propia mirada al universo que lo rodea- y esta mirada prevalece en la oralidad, en el afecto que concentra la palabra, monumento perpetuo, mascara en la que se condensan los rostros de millares de generaciones. Por ello, cuando los recopiladores como Yeats, como Lady Wilde iban a los poblados buscando a los cantores, a los maestros, aquellos en los que aún prevalecían fragmentos de tradicion, escuchaban la lenta agonia de un culto que era imprescindible para cierto orden de las cosas. La agonia lenta, e irrefrenable, de uno de los pocos ritos que merecían ser salvados. Por que en toda su malignidad, en toda su advertencia, se cristalizaba cierta redención, cierto poder compartido con respecto al lenguaje, cierto apoderamiento de las percepciones, un marco mas flexible que el de la razón con el cual dar cuerpo a las impresiones que nos sacuden, un cuerpo bello, poético, y que merece ser perpetuado por las voces de toda una generación que espera en ronda, atenta, siempre a punto de escucharnos.
Pd- por otra parte, Debo de ser descendiente de Finn Mac Cumhaill, por como me como las uñas, como si intentase llegar a la médula.
April 30, 2013
Non si può parlare di questo libro senza prima accennare qualcosa dell'autrice.
Lady Speranza (Francesca Jane 1821 - 1896 e madre di Oscar Wilde) aderì al movimento nazionalista e fu una delle figure di primissimo piano tra le donne poi fautrici dell'indipendenza dell'Irlanda, scrisse per il Movimento dei Giovani Irlandesi e divenne direttore della rivista "The Nation" con uno pseudonimo maschile.
Antesignana di un femminismo ante litteram, si battè per i diritti delle donne, soprattutto a favore di una loro istruzione più dignitosa, appoggiando la promulgazione delle Legge sulla Proprietà per le Donne Coniugate, liberate finalmente dalla schiavitù del matrimonio che non permetteva loro di godere delle proprie fortune.
Lei in particolar modo agì nel mondo culturale come gli uomini nel mondo politico: promuovendo iniziative come serate divulgative con letture di poesie e prose dedicate alla storia del paese, scolarizzazione, rappresentazioni teatrali.
Il grande amore verso la sua terra la portò a raccogliere tutte le leggende, le tradizioni, gli incantesimi fino a quel momento tramandate solo oralmente, a fare studiare da esperti la lingua antica per poter mantenere le parole esatte o la semplicità primitiva dello stile, facendo così di questa raccolta, un'opera di valore storico-nazionalistico.
Lady Speranza scrive nella prefazione:
"Tra pochi anni un'antologia come questa sarebbe impossibile, perché l'antica stirpe si sta rapidamente dislocando in altre terre. Nel vasto e laborioso mondo dell'America, con tutte le nuove influenze del luminoso progresso, le nuove generazioni, per quanto amino ancora la terra dei loro padri, difficilmente troveranno agio di sognare le colline e i laghi abitati dalle fate o le roccaforti dell'antica Irlanda"
Premesso ciò, devo dire che non è un bel libro nel senso comune del termine: le fiabe, le leggende, gli incantesimi sono scritti con uno stile scarno, mancano le descrizioni che creano l'atmosfera tipica delle favole come le intendiamo di solito.
Questo libro si legge se si ama l'Irlanda e colma la lacuna "del fantastico" dei libri di storia, fornendo così una conoscenza completa di questo meraviglioso Paese.
Lady Speranza (Francesca Jane 1821 - 1896 e madre di Oscar Wilde) aderì al movimento nazionalista e fu una delle figure di primissimo piano tra le donne poi fautrici dell'indipendenza dell'Irlanda, scrisse per il Movimento dei Giovani Irlandesi e divenne direttore della rivista "The Nation" con uno pseudonimo maschile.
Antesignana di un femminismo ante litteram, si battè per i diritti delle donne, soprattutto a favore di una loro istruzione più dignitosa, appoggiando la promulgazione delle Legge sulla Proprietà per le Donne Coniugate, liberate finalmente dalla schiavitù del matrimonio che non permetteva loro di godere delle proprie fortune.
Lei in particolar modo agì nel mondo culturale come gli uomini nel mondo politico: promuovendo iniziative come serate divulgative con letture di poesie e prose dedicate alla storia del paese, scolarizzazione, rappresentazioni teatrali.
Il grande amore verso la sua terra la portò a raccogliere tutte le leggende, le tradizioni, gli incantesimi fino a quel momento tramandate solo oralmente, a fare studiare da esperti la lingua antica per poter mantenere le parole esatte o la semplicità primitiva dello stile, facendo così di questa raccolta, un'opera di valore storico-nazionalistico.
Lady Speranza scrive nella prefazione:
"Tra pochi anni un'antologia come questa sarebbe impossibile, perché l'antica stirpe si sta rapidamente dislocando in altre terre. Nel vasto e laborioso mondo dell'America, con tutte le nuove influenze del luminoso progresso, le nuove generazioni, per quanto amino ancora la terra dei loro padri, difficilmente troveranno agio di sognare le colline e i laghi abitati dalle fate o le roccaforti dell'antica Irlanda"
Premesso ciò, devo dire che non è un bel libro nel senso comune del termine: le fiabe, le leggende, gli incantesimi sono scritti con uno stile scarno, mancano le descrizioni che creano l'atmosfera tipica delle favole come le intendiamo di solito.
Questo libro si legge se si ama l'Irlanda e colma la lacuna "del fantastico" dei libri di storia, fornendo così una conoscenza completa di questo meraviglioso Paese.
June 23, 2019
I found part 1 to be entertaining and educational. It added some depth to what I learned from reading Finn Mac Cool.
There's lots of stuff about fairies here. It was interesting to me how after the introduction of Christianity, the Irish shoehorned the belief in fairies into the Christian world view (The Fairies as Fallen Angels). This is fairly typical of the type of syncretistic religion that sometimes develops when an animistic culture adopts Christianity. There seems to be a real ambivalence where the fairies are seen as trickster spirits but not really evil and even as having some noble characteristics.
I skimmed past a lot of the items in the second volume, the spells and charms and superstitions.
You can find a copy of this online at
The Internet way-back machine.
Once upon a time there was this awesome web site known as Bran's Island. It lived at http://www.donaldcorrell.com/. There was a large collection of fiction and folklore there, but sadly the site went down in looks like 2015.
I used to periodically mirror the site in case of tragedy, so it's on my laptop. Over the weekend of 6/8/2019 I was traveling and looking for something to read I came across this. Just now I thought to check for it in Goodreads, and there it is. Cool.
There's lots of stuff about fairies here. It was interesting to me how after the introduction of Christianity, the Irish shoehorned the belief in fairies into the Christian world view (The Fairies as Fallen Angels). This is fairly typical of the type of syncretistic religion that sometimes develops when an animistic culture adopts Christianity. There seems to be a real ambivalence where the fairies are seen as trickster spirits but not really evil and even as having some noble characteristics.
I skimmed past a lot of the items in the second volume, the spells and charms and superstitions.
You can find a copy of this online at
The Internet way-back machine.
Once upon a time there was this awesome web site known as Bran's Island. It lived at http://www.donaldcorrell.com/. There was a large collection of fiction and folklore there, but sadly the site went down in looks like 2015.
I used to periodically mirror the site in case of tragedy, so it's on my laptop. Over the weekend of 6/8/2019 I was traveling and looking for something to read I came across this. Just now I thought to check for it in Goodreads, and there it is. Cool.
July 10, 2022
Un'interessantissima raccolta di tradizioni e leggende irlandesi, frutto del lavoro di ricerca e raccolta di nientepopodimeno che Lady Jane Wilde, madre del più famoso Oscar Wilde.
Il libro raccoglie racconti, leggende e pure "incantesimi" popolari per risolvere i più svariati problemi, reali o immaginari (dal rimedio contro le verruche a come impedire alle fate di rapire un bambino appena nato): quest'ultima categoria mi è sembrata particolarmente interessante per lo stretto legame che unisce religione e magia, preghiere e superstizione.
Un viaggio nel ricco folklore irlandese, non perfettamente strutturato (il tutto è suddiviso in categorie un po' casuali e si passa da una all'altra senza un criterio apparente) ma di certo molto affascinante.
Il libro raccoglie racconti, leggende e pure "incantesimi" popolari per risolvere i più svariati problemi, reali o immaginari (dal rimedio contro le verruche a come impedire alle fate di rapire un bambino appena nato): quest'ultima categoria mi è sembrata particolarmente interessante per lo stretto legame che unisce religione e magia, preghiere e superstizione.
Un viaggio nel ricco folklore irlandese, non perfettamente strutturato (il tutto è suddiviso in categorie un po' casuali e si passa da una all'altra senza un criterio apparente) ma di certo molto affascinante.
November 12, 2022
BOOOOOORING.
This book is boring.
Get some betters legends, the Irish.
Okay, I'm being unfair. It's Lady Wilde's writing style that's the real problem here. So dry. Lists and lists and lists of things. No doubt the information itself is interesting.
I added this to my TBR pile because I thought it was a collection of fairy tales. It's not. Is that my fault for setting false expectations? Yes. Am I still mad that I read 350 pages of LISTS? Yes, I am. Dry as the leaves covering the ground this time of year, this book was.
This book is boring.
Get some betters legends, the Irish.
Okay, I'm being unfair. It's Lady Wilde's writing style that's the real problem here. So dry. Lists and lists and lists of things. No doubt the information itself is interesting.
I added this to my TBR pile because I thought it was a collection of fairy tales. It's not. Is that my fault for setting false expectations? Yes. Am I still mad that I read 350 pages of LISTS? Yes, I am. Dry as the leaves covering the ground this time of year, this book was.
September 14, 2023
Una raccolta scritta con cura, piacevole nella lettura e decisamente scorrevole. L'ho divorato, e penso sia un libro che un appassionato di folklore dovrebbe avere. Non contiene chissà quali racconti incredibili, ma intrattiene e, per chi invece si vuole addentrare nello studio del folklore, risulta utile, per quanto romanzato.
Want to read
March 19, 2025I knew Oscar Wilde was born in Ireland to a wealthy, Protestant family. I had no idea his mother had been a poet who published pro-Irish Nationalism poems under the name Speranza. I just read her poem The Stricken Land, about the Great Hunger.
She was well regarded by the Irish who knew her so I'm curious to read her collection of their stories.
-March 2025
She was well regarded by the Irish who knew her so I'm curious to read her collection of their stories.
-March 2025
February 17, 2021
Some tales were better than others while some were just silly and made no sense. Like the last story ‘The Priest’s Soul’ where the child stabs the priest to reveal his soul. So the child committing sacrilegious murder is ok because the priest asked him too?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2020
Bello e bello anche il saggio iniziale di questa edizione anche se per molte cose superato. Le storie - e il lavoro quasi sociologico dietro - sono incredibilmente belle.
January 2, 2022
Molto belle le leggende e per me utili per lo studio, ma la traduzione è davvero obsoleta pur tenendo conto che il testo originale è datato.
February 15, 2023
Una raccolta deliziosa. Molto bello.
December 15, 2023
Fascinating.
April 24, 2025
We are so fortunate to have such an articulate collection of the the essential stories of the Irish past and heritage.
October 29, 2025
some scholarship about the stories would help
October 31, 2025
lots of contradictory narratives re: the fairies and whether or not you should party with them
April 28, 2024
I'm not sure who to blame for how boring most of this book is:
- The British for their empire and the consequences of that on the Irish.
- The Catholics for influencing the Irish and warping their existing folkloric beliefs.
- Lady Wylde herself for presenting these stories in a very blunt and uninteresting way.
All of the above?
All I know is that I DNF this one at around the 70% mark, life's too short. I need to become more comfortable with dropping a book if it's not good enough and lowering my "shitty book" threshold.
January 22, 2015
Lady Francesca Wilde is a well-known folklore writer. She researched many of Ireland's folktales herself, going straight to the sources and asking people the specifics on stories they had heard. This is what made her one of the authorities on the subject. Many people go straight to Yeats when they want to read about faerie folklore, but Wilde is another goto on the subject. She is well known for some of her other writing and for her famous son, but as a folklorist, she went beyond others and managed to collect folklore and put them into readable stories. This is a must read for anyone interested in faeries or folklore enthusiasts.
September 2, 2009
This book is not by Oscar Wilde, as stated above, but by his mother, Lady Wilde, who wrote tales down as they were told to her by the local people (Grimm-like). There are many different collections of hers but I thought this one, by Sterling, was especially well selected. (They've done a companion volume, also good, but this one focuses more on the Sidhe and on magical beings than the other). It's the only collection I've found that compares well with the Yeats collection, and the first story, The Horned Women, may have been a direct influence.
January 16, 2015
This was a fascinating collection of Irish folklore, but I wished she'd not kept adding little racist interjections about Aryanism. The introductions are not worth reading for that reason, but the stories are nice.
July 30, 2011
This book is usually regarded as a cornerstone in understanding Irish legends. My suggestion - do not try to read it all in one go.
April 14, 2015
Son 18 relatos pequeños que combinan la magia y el misterio del pueblo irlandés. Muy ameno y de fácil lectura. Me gustó.
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August 8, 2015Per chi ama l'Irlanda, come terra, per le sue storie, leggende, per le terre delle fate, per la magia..questo è il libro ideale!!
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