Celtic Wonder Tales

by Ella Young, Boris Artzybasheff, Vera Bock

"From childhood I heard tales of ghosts, banshees, haunted castles, mischievous and friendly sprites, snatches of ballads, and political arguments.... It was not until I came to Dublin and met Standish O'Grady, A.E., and Kuno Meyer that I realized what a heritage waited for me in Celtic literature. I read every translation I could get, learned Irish, and betook myself to Gaelic Ireland where, by turf fires, I could hear the poems of the Fianna recited by folk who had heard the faery music and had danced in faery circles." Here is a collection of wonderful tales from Ella Young's classic retelling of Celtic stories. These stories are selected from Celtic Wonder Tales, The Wonder Smith and His Son, The Tangle-Coated Horse, and The Unicorn with Silver Shoes.

Genres: Mythology, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

Ella Young was an Irish poet and Celtic mythologist active in the Gaelic and Celtic Revival literary movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Born in Ireland, Young was an author of poetry and children's books. She emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1925 as a temporary visitor and lived in California. For five years, she gave speaking tours on Celtic mythology at American universities, and in 1931, she was involved in a publicized immigration controversy when she attempted to become a citizen.

Young held a chair in Irish Myth and Lore at the University of California, Berkeley for seven years. At Berkeley, she was known for her colorful and lively persona, giving lectures while wearing the purple robes of a Druid, expounding on legendary creatures such as fairies and elves, and praising the benefits of talking to trees. Her encyclopedic knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject of Celtic mythology attracted and influenced many of her friends and won her a wide audience among writers and artists in California, including poet Robinson Jeffers, philosopher Alan Watts, photographer Ansel Adams, and composer Harry Partch, who set several of her poems to music.

Later in life, she served as the "godmother" and inspiration for the Dunites, a group of artists living in the dunes of San Luis Obispo County. She retired to the town of Oceano, where she died at the age of 88.

Reviews

[Mir]

Illustrated by Maud Gonne?! Seriously? I have to find this edition.

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of several Celtic tales of mighty warriors, the fairy people of Ireland, the birth of Ireland, & magic. My favorite is The Children of Lir about King Lir's four children ensorcelled into swans by their evil step-mother to roam for 900 years. It reminded me of my favorite fairy tale, The Wild Swans. This Celtic tale also tells why wild swans are protected in Ireland today. I enjoyed the book.

[Adam Carnehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this handsome-looking book at a Half Price Books in Minneapolis and picked it up because I thought it was a collection of various Celtic folk stories (or, to put it another way, old "faerie tales"). To my surprise and, later, delight, it turned out to be an intertwining series of stories revolving around mostly the same group of mythical Irish gods, heroes, faeries, and monsters.

The supernatural beings called the Tuath De Danaan lived in Ireland before regular humans began settling there. They were the sworn enemies of the Fomorians, demonic beings that live across the sea. Different key characters are introduced in this collection of "wonder-tales" and then slowly recede into the background if they're not killed. Lugh was a great, epic character, and I really enjoyed reading about the exploits of the son of Goban Saor, the mythical architect of ancient Ireland. Perhaps the most moving story is "The children of Lir."

Irish mythology, it turns out, is delightful. The land of Ireland itself is, perhaps, the most important character in these tales. The land sings and breathes and loves and assists the various gods and heroes. There is an incredibly rich and deep connection between these ancients and their land. It is beautiful when Ella Young describes the hills and mountains glowing with an amethyst radiance in their joy. I wish that we moderns who destroy and pollute our world could re-discover the mysticism at root in creation. I wish that we, too, could humbly bow down in worship, remembering that all is a gift to be protected, and not a resource to be exploited. It would seem that the medieval Irish monks who preserved these "pagan" tales did so with good reason.

[Sean Fitzgerald]

Very underrated, Ella 's writing is for all ages and captures the essence of the myths.

[Reinhold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Die Mythologie Irlands

Die einzig nennenswert erhaltenen keltischen Göttersagen, sind die irischen. Man darf sich daher nicht erwarten in diesem Buch mythologische Bilder des Keltentums insgesamt zu erhalten - die Mythologie der Kelten in Mittel- und Westeuropa ist leider zum größten Teil verloren gegangen. Dieses Buch enthält also die keltischen Sagen wie sie in Irland noch erhalten sind. Es steht einzig Irland im Betrachtungshorizont und es ist völlig losgelöst von den Vorstellungen wie diese in Frankreich und Mitteleuropa existiert haben.

Der Autorin ist es leider nicht gelungen, den Mythos so zu beschreiben, dass er für den unbedarften Leser leicht fasslich ist - die vielen (für den durchschnittlichen Mitteleuropäer ungewohnten und daher schwer zu behaltenden) Namen die ohne Erklärung ziemlich hilflos im Raum hängen, machen das Lesen dieses Büchleins ziemlich schwierig. Die Geschichten selbst sind aber recht nett. Sprachlich jedoch hat sich die Autorin leider nicht sehr viel Mühe gegeben.

Ich hätte eigentlich erwartet durch dieses Buch mehr Verständnis für die Artus-Sage zu erhalten und so den Hintergrund kennenzulernen, ehe ich mich über dieses faszinierende Kapitel der abendländischen Sage hermache. Diesbezüglich wurde ich allerdings ebenfalls enttäuscht. Als interessante Alternative kann vielleicht "Die Enzyklopädie der Mythologie" gesehen werden. Dieses Buch ist allerdings umfassender (behandelt auch nordische und klassische Mythologie) und ist, wie es einer Enzyklopädie zukommt, alphabetisch (anhand der Namen und Orte) geordnet.

Zusammenfassend kann man also festhalten, wenn sich jemand für die Mythologie Irlands interessiert wird er hier brauchbar bedient, während für jene die sich allgemeiner interessieren "Die Enzyklopädie der Mythologie" sicherlich mehr bietet.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book. Irish mythology is not as well known as the Graeco-Roman or Norse varieties. I have passed this book on to my son, Seth, who has recently taken an interest in mythology. I am pleased when any of my children take an interest in reading!

[Carola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me decepcionó este libro pues lo hallé un tanto difícil de seguir, simplemente no enganché. Además, como no tenía glosario tuve que recurrir a San Google para comprender la jerarquía y características de las deidades y lugares mitológicos celtas referidos.

Esperaba mucho más.

[Once-a-librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be really difficult to follow as a shared read-a-loud experience at night. The names of people and places were hard to pronounce and understand. However, since I'm not familiar with Celtic mythology, I learned a little about it through these tales.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat convoluted and difficult to read, this is not a book to read to your kids. More readable than Bulfinch though.

[Nika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the stories!
Just missed background about the Mythology.

[Juan Antonio Díaz Carrión · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5