Classic Celtic Fairy Tales [Hardcover]

John Matthews (Editor), Ian Daniels (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

If the word "faery" generally evokes a gauzy sprite, the powerful, dreadful, and beautiful beings found in these Celtic legends will change that forever.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Matthews, a well-known writer on the Celtic and Arthurian traditions, here offers a very attractively presented collection of Celtic fairy tales, wonderfully illustrated by Ian Daniels. Not since the offerings of Jeremiah Curtin, W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and others at the turn of the century has such a collection been assembled. A few of the tales are from available reprint sources, like Curtin's Myths and Folk Tales of Ireland, but most were culled from various books and obscure journals that have been long out of print. Most of the stories are from Ireland and Scotland, but other Celtic regions are represented as well. Each story is followed by a short yet informative note on the tale and its sources, and there is a good bibliography and index. This book would be attractive to younger readers as well as adults interested in Celtic traditions and is recommended for most public and academic libraries.?Charles V. Cowling, SUNY at Brockport
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Blandford Pr (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0713726180
• ISBN-13: 978-0713726183
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,733,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, November 19, 2003

By 

River (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Classic Celtic Fairy Tales (Paperback)

This collection of "fairy tales" is unlike any of the softened stories Disney is so fond of, like "Sleeping Beauty" and "Beauty and the Beast." This is, of course, not to say that our popular fairy tales are not lots of fun, but within THIS collection, you will find not only love, magic, and heroic quests, but also the unexpected, the bizarre, the grotesque, and -- in truly Celtic fashion -- an undercurrent of sorrow in many tales. Collected from old journals and books of folklore for the most part long out of print, each story is told in "original" wording whenever that is possible, with only the most necessary revisions, and in this John Matthews has done an excellent job keeping the Celtic Otherworld authentic while making it accessible to a modern -- and largely urban -- consciousness.

This book is listed in the children's section (and indeed it would make good reading with your child), but I have read each tale many times by myself and love them all (though I love especially the one about the old eagle, and the one about the fisherman who hunts seals until the seals take him down to their watery home to show him the pain he has wrought, and then teach him how to fix it.) Many of the stories ramble -- in what, from this and other readings, I have come to think of as a peculiarly Celtic way -- and they deal with death and loss, marriage and family, strange vows and impossible quests in sometimes confusing and unexpected ways, but this is no barrier to enjoyment, and indeed provides plenty of food for thought when you put the book down. "Morals" are not so clear cut as in our popular tales, and sometimes they are deeply buried or completely foreign to us. In this, they serve to teach us much about Celtic cultures and consciousness -- a valuable lesson for those with Celtic ancestry, an interest in Celtic scholarship, or belief systems based upon an old Celtic model.

All of this alone would make a wonderful book, but there is even more. On top of the complex beauty of the tales, the book includes strange but lovely paintings by Ian Daniels (one or two to a story - the one on the cover is my favorite) that add to the mood as you read. Indeed, a cold night, a crackling fire, and an ancient tale from this book are all that is needed to conjure a shadow of the Otherworld right into your living room.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful!, October 19, 2004

By 

E. Lenta "I, E. L." (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Classic Celtic Fairy Tales (Paperback)

Despite some tense confusion, it was overall very well written. I simply LOVED the illustrations...ah, glowing illustrations!

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Good, April 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Classic Celtic Fairy Tales (Paperback)

This story of fairy tales from the celts is very good. It has wonderful illistrtions and owinspiring storys. Anyone who is interastined in fairy tales and the celts is going to love this story. Please read this you will love it!