Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888) is a collection of
stories edited by W.B. Yeats. Compiled at the height of the Celtic
Twilight, a movement to revive the myths and traditions of Ancient
Ireland, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry captures a wide
range of stories, songs, poems, and firsthand accounts from artists and
storytellers dedicated to the preservation of Irish culture.
In "Frank Martin and the Fairies," a sickly man discusses the presence
of dozens of fairies inside his weaving shop. When a child in his
village falls ill, he claims to have seen the fairies building a small,
simple coffin, preparing to convey the poor youth from the world of men
to their own, shadowy realm. "Bewitched Butter," a tale from Donegal,
recounts a strange event involving two farming families and a prized
Kerry cow. When the young Grace Dogherty arrives on the Hanlon's
doorstep asking to milk their cow, Mrs. Hanlon initially refuses her.
But after several entreaties, the matriarch relents, allowing the girl
to take some of the Kerry cow's milk. When Moiley stops producing milk,
the Hanlon's fear that Grace has cast an evil eye on the cow, thereby
threatening their livelihood. Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish
Peasantry compiles numerous tales of giants, gods, devils, kings and
heroes, preserving the legends of Ireland's past, an age threatened with
erasure by science, reason, and modern industrialization.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of W.B. Yeats's Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish
Peasantry is a classic of Irish literature reimagined for modern
readers.
