Reviews

Matthews, a well-known writer on the Celtic and Arthurian traditions, here offers a very attractively presented collection of Celtic fairy tales, wonderfully illustrated by Ian Daniels. Not since the offerings of Jeremiah Curtin, W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and others at the turn of the century has such a collection been assembled. A few of the tales are from available reprint sources, like Curtin's Myths and Folk Tales of Ireland, but most were culled from various books and obscure journals that have been long out of print. Most of the stories are from Ireland and Scotland, but other Celtic regions are represented as well. Each story is followed by a short yet informative note on the tale and its sources, and there is a good bibliography and index. This book would be attractive to younger readers as well as adults interested in Celtic traditions and is recommended for most public and academic libraries.‘Charles V. Cowling, SUNY at Brockport