Celtic Tales

October 17, 2016
Divided into four categories—“Tricksters,” “The Sea,” “Quests,” and “Romance”—the 16 tales that make up this handsomely designed collection are adapted from sources originally published between 1888 and 1929, now in the public domain. Full-page silhouette-style images from British illustrator Forrester open each tale, framed within intricate borders featuring fish, gravestones, dragons, and other thematic imagery entwined with Celtic knots. Witches, selkies, fairies, and other creatures make appearances in the brisk tales, which tend toward light humor and happy resolutions. It’s an absorbing introduction to the lore of Albion, but readers will also enjoy teasing out similarities between these tales and more familiar ones—the Scottish tale of “The Black Bull of Norroway” carries echoes of “Beauty and the Beast,” while a clumsy girl named Ursula features in the Rumpelstiltskin-like story that opens the collection.