Irish Fairy Tales

by W.B. Yeats

I am often doubted when I say that the Irish peasantry still believe in fairies. People think I am merely trying to bring back a little of the old dead beautiful world of romance into this century of great engines and spinning-jinnies. Surely the hum of wheels and clatter of printing presses, to let alone the lecturers with their black coats and tumblers of water, have driven away the goblin kingdom and made.
William Butler Yeats

Genres: Fiction

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1892

About the author

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years Yeats served as an Irish Senator for two terms. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and along with Lady Gregory and Edward Martyn founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Nobel Committee described as "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." He was the first Irishman so honored. Yeats is generally considered one of the few writers who completed their greatest works after being awarded the Nobel Prize; such works include The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1929).

Yeats was born and educated in Dublin but spent his childhood in County Sligo. He studied poetry in his youth, and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. Those topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889, and those slow paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser and Percy Bysshe Shelley, as well as to the Pre-Raphaelite poets. From 1900, Yeats' poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, as well as with cyclical theories of life.
--from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another collection of Irish folk tales compiled and edited by Yeats. Great stuff, if you like that sort of thing.

My next book: How to Stay Calm in a Global Pandemic

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good old-fashioned collection first published in 1892 with fourteen tales retold by a variety of authors including W. B. Yeats, Douglas Hyde, and Lady Wilde among others. The collection includes stories about land and water spirits, evil spirits, cats, and kings and warriors. It also includes background on Irish folklore and some illustrations by Jack B. Yeats

[Kübra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Beklentim uyumadan önce çocuklara okunacak tarzda bir kitap olduğu yönündeydi. Ders verici ve düşündürücü olmasını beklemiştim. Ancak pek o türde bir kitap değildi. Daha çok korkutucu masallardan oluşuyordu. Pek sevemedim.

[Fernanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Irish folk and their stories.