India Myth & Legend

by Donald A. Mackenzie

No country in the world possesses a richer and more inexhaustible collection of fairy stories than India. So wrote the author, noted folklorist Donald A. MacKenzie (1873-1936) more than ninety years ago when this wonderful collection of twenty-three fairy and folk tales of India was first published. MacKenzie published many books on fairy tales, folklore, myths and legends during his life. Some were more in-depth studies of mythology from a particular society and others, such as this work, were largely collections of tales that he had gathered through his research into the folklore of a country. For this particular collection of fairy tales, the reader will find that a number of stories are, in fact, parables. And wonderful parables they are, containing all sorts of wisdom, such as it is a mistake to make rash proposals, lest one should be taken at one s word or that no true friendship can exist between one who has possessions and one who desires to obtain them. Aside from the parables, the book has many stories that are wonderful tales on their own but also, and as is the case with most such tales, ones that contain important morals or lessons for the reader. Many of the stories include speaking animals (tigers, jackals, camels, and herons) as well as gods, spirits and other mysterious characters. Of course, a number of the fairy tales do include a King (Rajah) and a Queen (Rani). And all will appeal to young and old alike. The text is accompanied by eight black and white illustrations as well as one full-color illustration on the cover all drawn by Maxwell Armfield.

Genres: Mythology, India, Nonfiction, Religion, Short Story Collection

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1913

About the author

Donald Alexander Mackenzie was a Scottish journalist and folklorist and a prolific writer on religion, mythology and anthropology in the early 20th century.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Myths and fables have always interested me. As a child the heroic tales captured my imagination but as an adult I have seen them as clues to new old worlds and civilizations and backdrops for scientific developments.

[Vaishali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not entirely accurate when compared to actual Sanskrit texts, but still an interesting read.

[katy p · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to DNF this book but I pushed through. This is not because it’s a bad book I’m sure others would enjoy it but personally the writing style didn’t speak to me, for a book that’s about myths it didn’t transport me. It wasn’t magical. Instead I just kept getting annoyed over how the women were treated, and a little bored elsewhere.

[Charles Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels slightly dated now, and the archaeology of the early Indian civilisations will have moved on. However, a good introduction to the major Indian sagas.