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A review by dorhastings
Irish Fairy and Folk Tales by W.B. Yeats
3.0
Wow, I completely forgot to review this book. Well, I've had this on my physical bookshelf for a few years. Given that I am a smidge Irish (and I like folklore), this was an easy purchase, and one I'm likely to keep.
Granted, I know very little about Irish fairies and folklore beyond major media examples. I do very much like Yeats, but I don't know how representative this book is of Irish tales in general, though I also imagine many folk tales are localized.
Overall I think this is a good collection. It certainly isn't extensive. Rather, it covers handfuls of stories and poems regarding different groups (fairies of all sorts, ghosts, giants, kings and queens, etc). I was fascinated to read that, according to Yeats's research, leprechauns (solitary fairies) are rich because they make shoes (no mention of rainbows) and they wear red coats. Other fairies that live in groups wear green coats. And another sort of solitary fairy has the pipe that leprechauns are so often seen as having.
Granted, I know very little about Irish fairies and folklore beyond major media examples. I do very much like Yeats, but I don't know how representative this book is of Irish tales in general, though I also imagine many folk tales are localized.
Overall I think this is a good collection. It certainly isn't extensive. Rather, it covers handfuls of stories and poems regarding different groups (fairies of all sorts, ghosts, giants, kings and queens, etc). I was fascinated to read that, according to Yeats's research, leprechauns (solitary fairies) are rich because they make shoes (no mention of rainbows) and they wear red coats. Other fairies that live in groups wear green coats. And another sort of solitary fairy has the pipe that leprechauns are so often seen as having.