Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by W.B. Yeats

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by W.B. Yeats | 1888 | Avenel Books | Hardcover $ 29

Yeats selected the best tales from the work of many expert writers and from his own research, and he also enriched the collection immeasurably with his musical prose, full of wit, sly irony, and warmth for the Irish people and their tales. He has grouped these stories of supernatural beings by category — trooping fairies, solitary fairies, changelings, ghosts, witches, fairy doctors, the Devil, and giants — and describes their attributes, habits, and customs in wonderful introductory passages to each section

Irish folklore is fascinating, though my knowledge of it up to now has been limited; Nobel Prize-winning poet W.B. Yeats is a foundational figure of the literary canon of Ireland, yet I’d never read a single word by him. I aimed to remedy both these gaps in my reading experience with this work.

The particular edition on my bookshelf is actually a combination of the work by Yeats and a separate second work. This companion book is a retelling of the legend of Cú Chulainn, Cuchulain of Muirthemne, by one of his contemporary Irish Literary Revival leaders, Lady Gregory. I opted to read only the first book for now, but I enjoyed it well enough that I think I’ll tackle the second one eventually, too.

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry is actually a collection of stories, many of which the author has gathered from other folklorists, though the introduction describes his own independent research in the form of interviewing various storytellers. Entries range in length from little tales of just a couple of pages to fully developed short stories. Many of the stories are charmingly written as though being told in an accent, and Irish Gaelic vocabulary is liberally scattered throughout.

The collection is altogether entrancing, with entries that run the gamut from fun little bedtime stories to cautionary tales to reputedly true accounts of violent bewitchment. Story collections like this can be fun to read but often take me months to get through, as I’ll typically get to one story at a time in minutes snatched here and there during a lunch break or while waiting for an appointment rather than sitting down for an hours-long read as is my preference to do with a novel or narrative nonfic. A few of my favorite selections out of this book were The Soul Cages by T. Crofton Croker, Teig O’Kane and the Corpse by Douglas Hyde, and The Demon Cat by Lady Wilde.

This is a good choice for readers who have an interest in the history or mythology of the Irish Celts, or an interest in stories of the fair folk or witchcraft more broadly.

Links:

• Biography from the Poetry Foundation
• “The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats” exhibit from the National Library of Ireland
• Yeats Society Sligo
• Yeats Archive from the National Gallery of Ireland

Publication information: Yeats, W.B. and Lady Gregory. A treasury of Irish myth, legend, and folklore. New York, NY: Avenel Books, 1986. Print.
Source: Personal library.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.