At the Edge of the World: Magical Stories of Ireland (Hardcover)

~ John Lowings (Editor, Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"I have not chosen these tales to be safe, lightweight entertainment," writes Anglo-Irish photographer Lowings in his introduction to this illustrated collection. "I have chosen them because they touch on primeval fears and fascinations that, even now, flood up from within us to fill the darkness outside." Indeed, these 23 ghost stories and fairy tales (gathered from mostly 19th-century folklorists, among them Lady Wilde, T. Crofton Croker and Douglas Hyde) are more suitable for the bedside than the coffee table, Lowings's highly imaginative 40 photographs notwithstanding. Since Lowings has, on his own admission, "never been able to photograph a fairy fort," he settles for desolate landscapes whose fence posts, farmsteads and ruins trace a vanished human presence. None is "enchanted" in the ordinary sense; instead, these images conjure up a countryside as full of ghosts as its stories used to be.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Photographer John Lowings has collected 23 ghost stories and fairy tales rooted in Ireland's oral tradition and illustrated them with his images.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company; 1st edition (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805054006
• ISBN-13: 978-0805054002
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,195,502 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and powerful, November 13, 1998

By A Customer

Extremely interesting combination of contemporary photographs and traditional stories. The photographs complement the text and evoke the atmosphere of the telling of the stories quite beautifully. I found the book fascinating.