Celtic Fairy Tales

Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 - 30 January 1916) was a folklorist, literary critic and historian. He was born in Australia, but came to England to attend St. John’s College, Cambridge. He was a prolific writer on many aspects of Jewish history, and biblical archaeology. His works included contributions to the Jewish Encyclopedia, translations of European works, and critical editions of early English literature.

From 1899-1900 he edited the journal Folklore, and he collected folklore and fairy tales which he compiled into five different collections: English Fairy Tales, More English Fairy Tales, Celtic Fairy Tales, More Celtic Fairy Tales, and European Folk and Fairy Tales. He was inspired by the Grimm’s Brothers, and recognized that folk lore was an important part of a nation’s identity. He wished that English and Irish children to have access to their own heritage, rather than reading French and German stories.

The two volumes of Celtic folk tales collected by the leading British folklorist Joseph Jacobs (1854–1916) introduced the children of the world to the special vision and color, the unique magic of the Celtic folk imagination.
The 26 stories of "Guleesh," "The Horned Women," "King O'Toole and His Goose," "The Sea-Maiden," "The Shee An Gannon and the Gruagach Gaire," "The Lad with the Goat-Skin," the legendary "Dierdre," "Beth Gellert," and the other wonderful characters, the curses and hexes, the broken promises and granted wishes are accompanied by eight full-page plates, 37 drawings, and decorated capitals and endpieces that help make this book the charming one that generations of youngsters have proclaimed it to be.