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Faries and Folk of Ireland
The Original Celtic Fairy Tales
Faries and Folk of Ireland is a collection of Celtic folk tales written by William Henry Frost. Witness how the Irish common folk regard their history, their origin and also their relationship with nature, a mysterious place full of fairies, elves and evil creatures.
198 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1900
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 17, 2017
Just in time for St. Patrick's Day
This book was fun to read; I especially liked how the folklore was tied in to the immigration experience-Ireland to America. For .99 on my Kindle, it was well worth the read.
This book was fun to read; I especially liked how the folklore was tied in to the immigration experience-Ireland to America. For .99 on my Kindle, it was well worth the read.
March 26, 2021
A series of Irish legends tied into an encompassing tale that would've been better separated as a tale itself. Because of the incongruity of the whole, reading this can be clunky. This is much like latter day musicals where the story is moving along and then a song comes in to clutter the story. In this case the clutter are fine tales, for the most part. There are many from start to finish. Much known of the "Good People", or leprechauns, stem from the tales inserted.
The over-all tale stems from legends too involving kidnapping, life styles of the Good People and a sense of time. This part is OK, but is stretched a bit thin to fit in all of the other tales inserted.
The writing is fine and the characters very good. The settings are very well done as the story is in Ireland and then entirely falls apart when all move to America. The American background descriptions are basically the same as Ireland had been.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out ten points.
The over-all tale stems from legends too involving kidnapping, life styles of the Good People and a sense of time. This part is OK, but is stretched a bit thin to fit in all of the other tales inserted.
The writing is fine and the characters very good. The settings are very well done as the story is in Ireland and then entirely falls apart when all move to America. The American background descriptions are basically the same as Ireland had been.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out ten points.
February 21, 2025
From Ireland to America
This story follows the life of two families The O'Briens and The Sullivans of Ireland. Their lives are very rough and trying. So the O'Briens decide to leave and go to America and they take the Sullivans with them. Then the Good people (fairies) decide to come along. So if you want to learn more about their time in America, you must read the book.
This story follows the life of two families The O'Briens and The Sullivans of Ireland. Their lives are very rough and trying. So the O'Briens decide to leave and go to America and they take the Sullivans with them. Then the Good people (fairies) decide to come along. So if you want to learn more about their time in America, you must read the book.
November 13, 2020
A Fun Read
Lovely story. My wife and I read it aloud. It is a fun tale, with many tales woven into it. I recommend it to all and it would be a great read to your children at bedtime.
Lovely story. My wife and I read it aloud. It is a fun tale, with many tales woven into it. I recommend it to all and it would be a great read to your children at bedtime.
September 17, 2014
We tend to think that stories which have the premise of "What if fairy tales are real! And in the real world!" as a sort of exclusively modern concept. But here is a book from 1900 that works on the same idea--except their "real world" is lightly historical to us.
That said, it's not a super wonderfully great book. The ...narrator has a tendency to insult/compliment the readers in slightly alarming ways, and the focus is on how wonderfully perfect the two young people are, rather than on world-building or plot or really anything else at all. Plus there's a whole chapter that the author/narrator strongly suggests you skip, which makes me wonder why I'm reading the other chapters in the first place.
But it's decent, and I enjoyed reading it, and sometimes I liked the way the fairy tales were interwoven, both in how the characters told them, and in how the characters lived them. The fairy tales that the characters tell are traditional ones, too, and not lightly altered like most are in modern books, so that was neat, too.
That said, it's not a super wonderfully great book. The ...narrator has a tendency to insult/compliment the readers in slightly alarming ways, and the focus is on how wonderfully perfect the two young people are, rather than on world-building or plot or really anything else at all. Plus there's a whole chapter that the author/narrator strongly suggests you skip, which makes me wonder why I'm reading the other chapters in the first place.
But it's decent, and I enjoyed reading it, and sometimes I liked the way the fairy tales were interwoven, both in how the characters told them, and in how the characters lived them. The fairy tales that the characters tell are traditional ones, too, and not lightly altered like most are in modern books, so that was neat, too.
October 19, 2024
I have downloaded this book from Project Gutenberg expecting what it tells on the title: Irish folktales about fairies. I wanted to learn about the original fairies, mean and scary and dangerous, and not the defanged and declawed Disney version.
Well, this was not it. Yes, there are some Irish folktales in this book, but almost nothing i didn't know of before. The author is weaving his own tale and using the original tales as an inspiration. And he is an insufferable obnoxious prick while doing so. His story is sprinkled with condescending addresses to the reader like this:
If you only knew more we could get on with the story so much faster. It is most annoying. And you have been brought up so well too! I don't see that it is anybody's fault but your own.
And also muh 'muricah vibes come very strongly off, as well as christian preaching about how European heathens have no soul and won't be saved when the day of judgement comes.
This book didn't age well.
One star ⭐ with an extra one for the few original tales ⭐
Well, this was not it. Yes, there are some Irish folktales in this book, but almost nothing i didn't know of before. The author is weaving his own tale and using the original tales as an inspiration. And he is an insufferable obnoxious prick while doing so. His story is sprinkled with condescending addresses to the reader like this:
If you only knew more we could get on with the story so much faster. It is most annoying. And you have been brought up so well too! I don't see that it is anybody's fault but your own.
And also muh 'muricah vibes come very strongly off, as well as christian preaching about how European heathens have no soul and won't be saved when the day of judgement comes.
This book didn't age well.
One star ⭐ with an extra one for the few original tales ⭐
March 7, 2013
Wm Frost uses well known mythical and ghost stories of ancient Ireland to illustrate his own fairy tale about two Irish families who immigrate to America - along with the Fairies who lived near them - near the turn of the century (1900).
In so telling, Frost gives his own impression as to why the "good people" greatly diminished in importance to humans.
In so telling, Frost gives his own impression as to why the "good people" greatly diminished in importance to humans.
February 20, 2015
First book I read about fairies. I really like fairies :)
October 29, 2014
Tried to finish it, but the old fashioned style became boring after a while. Plus the language, which was trying to mimic the old Irish dialect, was difficult to understand in places.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews