EBOOK

Celtic Fairy Tales and Legends

Rosalind Kerven
5
(1)
Year
2024
Language
English

About

From mermaids to dragons, 16 ancient Celtic fairy tales retold with their histories.

The Celtic cultures of the British Isles—Ireland, Scotland and Wales—have produced some of the richest traditional tales in Europe. Three words best sum up their themes and flavour: adventure, enchantment and romance.

In this book, Rosalind Kerven has revived the best Celtic fairy tales for a new generation. The stories are sourced from old folk tale collections from all three regions, alongside selected medieval Welsh and Irish texts.

• Visit mysterious Otherworlds inside the hills and below the sea—including a land where only the truth is ever spoken.
• Meet iconic characters such as the first great Welsh poet, Taliesin, and the mighty Irish hero, Fionn mac Cumhaill.
• Cheer on bold Scots lasses such as Mallie Whuppy, as she outwits a fearsome giant, and Kate Crackernuts, who rescues a prince from bewitchment.
• Encounter witches, fairies, a bogle, talking animals and strange underwater beings.

Each story is retold from the medieval texts and oral storytelling traditions of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with fascinating background notes and a long list of sources and further reading included. The background notes feature a list of source material, analyses of themes, and examples of similar legends from all over Europe.

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Reviews

"A poetic and beautifully-presented introduction to the imaginative corpus of Celtic myth."
Author of Times Bestseller 'SISTERSONG' and 'Song of The Huntress'
"'There are hours of enjoyment to be had in reading these time-honoured tales, passed down through many generations of storytellers.'"
The Herald (Scotland)
"'Kerven has particular insight on this form of storytelling and how one defines a myth, legend and a fairy tale .'"
The Irish Post

Artists