Why read Irish Fairy Tales?

Book cover of Irish Fairy Tales

Book description

James Stephens' collection of Irish Fairy Tales is presented in this beautiful volume alongside gorgeous illustrations by Arthur Rackham.

James Stephens was an Irish novelist and poet, and his retellings of Irish myths and fairy tales combine humour and lyricism, making them light and fun reads. This edition of Irish…

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Topics

The Irish

Genres

Mythology

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Why read it?

1 author picked Irish Fairy Tales as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Lisa M. Bitel

Author

There are more accurate translations and better selections, but I love this collection for two reasons. First, Stephens was a Dublin-born, Irish-speaking novelist, poet, and eyewitness to the Easter Rising of 1916. His stories of ancient heroes and Otherworldly folk salute a proudly Celtic past. Stephens was part of the nationalist literary revival that harnessed Irish myths to an independent future. A friend to politicians and intellectuals, he claimed (untruthfully) to have the same birthday as his friend James Joyce. Stephens cleaned up the old stories for tender ears, but his early 20th-century language casts an antiquarian sheen on his…

From Lisa's list on lead to the otherworld.