Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Description

Celtic Fairy Tales is a book by Joseph Jacobs, first published in 1892. It gathers classic Irish, Scottish and broader Celtic folk narratives into a single, readable collection. The volume presents a lively mix of myth, legend and simple folk stories — from fairy encounters and shape-changing episodes to trickster tales and moral stories — all retold in clear, engaging prose for modern readers. This collection is a fine example of late-Victorian folklore anthologies and remains a useful resource for readers and researchers interested in Celtic folklore, Irish fairy tales, traditional Celtic stories and comparative folk literature. Beyond entertaining readers, Jacobs’ work helped popularise Celtic folk material for an English-speaking audience at a time when folklore studies were becoming formalised. His selections and editorial framing reflect the period’s interest in preserving oral tradition and placing national folk narratives alongside the better-known European fairy-tale canons; as such the book has influenced how generations have accessed and understood Celtic mythology, folk motifs and storytelling forms. Celtic Fairy Tales continues to be valuable for anyone exploring folk motifs, storytelling, or the connections between regional legend and wider mythic traditions.

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