Irish Fairy Tales

by D.L. Ashliman (Foreword), Arthur Rackham (Illustrator)

Ireland has a rich history of storytelling, with its many tales of heroes, giants, sea-folk, fairies and witchcraft. Here, Arthur Rackham’s distinctive artwork, along with illustrations by other artists from the turn of the twentieth century, accompany powerful tales of the early Celts and the later stories of an Ireland of mighty hearths, dreaming of battlefield glory, ancient gods and mystical isles.

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Classics, Fiction, Anthologies, Folklore

480 pages, Hardcover

First published November 19, 2018

About the author

Emeritus professor of folklore, mythology, comparative literature, and German at University of Pittsburgh.

Reviews

[Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

First to review... No pressure or anything. Someone else reviewed Flame Tree Studio's Celtic Myths collection and used the words "dry" and "reference book"; took the words right out of my mouth. I feel awful for not enjoying this collection. I mean, Irish Fairy Tales in a cover this beautiful? Sign me up! But I couldn't get lost in most of these (I found a few diamonds in the rough). Don't hate me... But after a while, it felt like I was reading the same story over and over again. There was little to no variation in the tales, and I don't mean the settings; people, there are only so many stories you can give me on the Pooka. So far, these editions aren't impressing me, I mean, Bram Stoker's collection was shaky at best. That seems to be the case with these guys. But please, don't take my word for it (Reading Rainbow, much), in that not many people have read these editions, so the ratings are more than a bit skewed. I feel like such a ditz whenever I don't like books that should be tailor made for me (My favorite college courses were regional fairy tales/myths, for crying out loud!) Maybe I just need to find a better edition of Irish tales?

[Charissa Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overview: Have you ever heard or read the story of "The Horned Women"? There are plenty of stories about the fairy folk, merrows, selkies and the Pooka. Are we not interested in the historical and mythological accounts of these stories? Mr. Ashliman has collected many tales for this beautiful tome. How many tales will you recognize? Let's find out.

Dislikes: Some of these stories were written in what could be called a phonetic accent style, similar to how Mr. Twain wrote "Huckleberry Finn". This can bring flavor to the stores, yet at the cost of the ability to clearly understand the work. Some of the later stories in the book were quite difficult to decipher.

Likes: I'm not sure how close to Ireland that the Roman conquest took them, or how much effect that Christianity had at the time of the Roman Empire's spreading. Either way, it was good to see quite a few references to Christianity in this collection.

Conclusion: This was a fun book. If you are studying old myths and legends, or if you just like fairy tales, give this beautiful book a try. Enjoy the read.

[Edith Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Irish fairy tails. Won't be disappointed.

[Ian Castricum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were quite fun, and others just dragged on confusingly, or were cunfusing, or were confusingly fun. So i would read this as bed time stories one story a night.