Myth-Folklore Unit: More Celtic Fairy Tales

Overview. Joseph Jacobs published his first volume of Celtic Fairy Tales in 1892, followed by More Celtic Fairy Tales in 1895. Both books draw on a wide range of Celtic sources (primarily Irish, Scottish, and Welsh), and they feature many different story genres. This reading unit starts out with the mythological legend of The Fate of the Children of Lir which takes place during the era of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the legendary kings and heroes of Ireland's distant past. There are comical stories here too, like The Dream of Owen O'Mulready or the hilarious Story of the McAndrew Family. You will see what happens when the devil in human form is employed as a ploughman by The Farmer of Liddesdale, and of course there are several stories here about the fairy folk, such as the wonderful Legend of Knockgrafton which is about the fairy music, or Elidore, which is about a boy's journey into the land of the fairy folk.

Language. Jacobs tells the fairy tales in modern literary prose, so it is not difficult reading.

Story Length. This units contains stories of varying length: some are single-page stories, some are two pages long, and some are three pages long.