Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales from Burns to Buchan
Gordon Jarvie (ed.)
Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales from Burns to Buchan
Mystery and excitement abound in this lively collection of fairy tales, folklore and legends, which celebrate Scotland's enormously rich oral tradition and offers a carefully chosen combination of old favourites such as Tam Lin, Thomas Rymer and Adam Bell, as well as more modern stories by master story-tellers like Andrew Lang, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and John Buchan.
3.3 out of 5 based on 3 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Fiction |
| Genre |
Short Stories |
| Format |
Paperback |
| Pages |
256 |
| RRP |
£8.99 |
| Date of Publication |
October 2008 |
| ISBN |
978-0141442266 |
| Publisher |
Penguin Classics |
| |
Mystery and excitement abound in this lively collection of fairy tales, folklore and legends, which celebrate Scotland's enormously rich oral tradition and offers a carefully chosen combination of old favourites such as Tam Lin, Thomas Rymer and Adam Bell, as well as more modern stories by master story-tellers like Andrew Lang, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and John Buchan.
Reviews
The Independent
Ben Higgins
“The main difference between this and the 1992 first edition is the inclusion of Scots language, so classics such as "Thomas the Rhymer" and "Tam Lin" are restored to their vernacular origins. The result is an improvement. Occasionally a little dense, the language in this range of stories and poems is a fascinating part of the Scottish folk tapestry. Concerned mostly with loss and death, often set against horrific historical backgrounds, the quality of these tales is assured by their oral tradition.”
12/12/2008
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The Independent on Sunday
Lesley McDowell
“So many of these tales are concerned with loss and death – the loss of children or a partner, or the threat of extinction from an alien hand – that it's no surprise to learn many were written either against the backdrop of war or famine, or about a specific battle or conflict. The hope of survival in another form is apparent too, with vanished lovers or children being transformed into birds or animals, giving many of the stories an added poignancy... One small quibble – I'd have liked to have known, where possible, when the stories were written or published, as dates can be both significant and revealing.”
09/11/2008
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The Guardian
Alfred Hickling
“Some of the dialect can be a little opaque at times. Robert Louis Stevenson's "Tale of Tod Lapraik" concludes: "When the corp was examined, sorrow a leid drap was to be fund; but there was grandfaither's siller tester in the puddock's heart of him," which would probably be a fantastic twist if I knew what it meant. But the best stories are those with non-paranormal explanations. In Andrew Lang's fine, long narrative "The Gold of Fairnilee", the hero's supposed abduction by elves turns out to be a ruse to avoid conscription in the border wars. Given the prospect of being dragged into some brutal tussle with the Sassenachs, it's no surprise he should run off to join the national elf service instead.”
25/10/2008
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