Classic Celtic Fairy Tales

by John Matthews (Editor), Ian Daniels (Illustrator)

"...well-researched, rather scholarly book...fanciful illustrations, in both black-and-white and color..."-- Publishers Weekly . "Matthews...offers a very attractively presented collection...wonderfully illustrated...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....most were culled from various books and obscure journals that have long been out of print....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."-- Library Journal . "...collection is varied and brilliant...beautiful illustrations are bold and colorful."-- KLIATT .

Genres: Mythology, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Fiction, Folklore, Irish Literature, Classics

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

John Matthews is an historian, folklorist and author. He has been a full time writer since 1980 and has produced over ninety books on the Arthurian Legends and Grail Studies, as well as short stories and a volume of poetry. He has devoted much of the past thirty years to the study of Arthurian Traditions and myth in general. His best known and most widely read works are ‘Pirates’ (Carlton/Atheneum), No 1 children’s book on the New York Times Review best-seller list for 22 weeks in 2006, ‘The Grail, Quest for Eternal Life’ (Thames & Hudson, 1981) ‘The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom’ (Element, 1994) and ‘The Winter Solstice’ (Quest Books, 1999) which won the Benjamin Franklin Award for that year. His book ‘Celtic Warrior Chiefs’ was a New York Public Library recommended title for young people.

Reviews

[Apostate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this slender book five stars if its stories had matched the illustrations in quality, but they were a bit bland & skewed towards Irish tales. Matching text to art is probably hopeless in this case: the color paintings were SUPERB! They were sensual (sensuous?), mesmerizing, surreal, disturbing, & highly original. I wish I could order them as prints suitable for framing.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels weird to rate fairy tales, but honestly, I'd give this maybe 2.5 stars? Maybe I wasn't the right audience for it, but then, who would be? Not children, certainly. The tales dragged, were so repetitive, and were just generally boring. The best one was the one about selkies- at least it felt original within the context of this book.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know I have read this before, but couldn't really remember much about it. When I picked it up to re-read, I was quite looking forward to it, but quickly found it a bit irritating. The trouble with fairy and folk tales, is that they're really meant to be told aloud (note, I didn't say read out loud). When you write them down, they have to be changed in order to retain their sparkle. Something that would be entertaining and funny if heard, soon becomes repetitive and a bore to read. And some of the 'translations' really weren't needed and only interrupted the flow of the story. I quite liked the discussion of each story at the end, but even then it seemed as if the author was just copying what authors had done before. I believe this is why the stories seemed so different in tone and word play.

The illustrations were ok, but a bit whimsical for my liking - if a celtic warrior went off his quest bare-chested, in harlequin trousers, I don't think he'd of got very far!

[Tegan Aileen Thorez-Debrucq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book a lot when I first read it as a teenager.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars it would be five if there was any illustrations in the book

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giving extra points for the book itself, which is beautifully made. The beauty (and weirdness) of the color plates varies, but overall it's a gorgeous book. As for the stories, some are very good. My favorites are "The Bird of the Golden Land," "The Battle of the Birds," and "The Quest of Everlasting Life." A lot of others are variations of each other, and since most of them are old public-domain pieces, there's some odd variation in style. Having read them all, I was definitely able to see some common themes, and there were really interesting echoes of other European fairy tales. I've been meaning to get back to the Andrew Lang Fairy Books, which I think was where I saw a lot of things like bone ladders, magical chase scenes, and the importance of respecting one's elders.

The editor is (or was) apparently a shamanic instructor, and a lot of his notes relate the stories to paganism and shamanic visions. I'm more interested in them as pieces of folklore, and at some point I'd like to read some other collections of Celtic fairy tales for a broader view. This was definitely worth reading, though, and it only remains to be seen whether my friend will take it back after the twelve years I've had it. -_-

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved these stories! Written like they came straight from the story teller added something to them that you don't normally see in fairy tales. The illustrations were very beautiful, but I thought the androgynous and slightly gothic look all the people had was a little silly.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stories were good, if a little repetitive. Notes were good for listing primary sources, but the editor tended to wander a bit, as when he discussed his own shamannic experiences. Illustrations were awful, historically inaccurate and detracting from the myths themselves.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Fairy Tales and I think the drawings are beautiful

[Katherine Armshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iloved the well reasearched stories and the glorious art work. It's a must read for any fairy tale lover of all ages.