A review by futurama1979
Irish Fairy and Folk Tales by W.B. Yeats

5.0

This book is so perfectly up my alley that there's no way I wouldn't love it. I've had it around the house forever growing up and have picked stories out to read, but this is the first time I committed to it and read the whole thing front to back and can I just say? Exceeded all expectations.

Published in 1888, it's so telling of its time and makes for such an interesting read now, when culture has shifted so far from folklore-ish suspicions and stories in everyday life. Yeats mentions the last true bards of Ireland having been around just before the collection of the stories, and the fact to think that something we think of as being so ancient was still present during the editing of the book is so cool.

And All the stories are so brilliant and so great to read!! Collected from a multitude of different folklorists in Yeats' time, it's a super comprehensive gathering from counties all over Ireland. They were all a joy to read but my favourites were: Teig O'Kane and the Corpse, the Soul Cages, the Three Wishes, and the Story of Conn-eda.