Irish Fairy and Folk Tales. Selected and Edited by W.B. Yeats. Twelve Illustrations by James Torrance. London: Walter Scott, [1893]. First Illustrated Edition. Pp xviii, 326 + adverts; all edges gilt. Publisher’s yellow cloth pictorially blocked on front and back covers and spine in white, dark maroon and gilt. Pictorial endpapers. Light scuffing to covers, contents in nice bright condition.

In this delightful gathering of legend and song, the familiar characters of Irish myth come to life: the mercurial trooping fairies, as ready to make mischief as to do good; the solitary and industrious Lepracaun and his dissipated cousin, the Cluricaun; the fearsome Pooka, who lives among ruins and has “grown monstrous with much solitude”; and the Banshee, whose eerie wailing warns of death. More than an ambitious and successful effort to preserve the rich heritage of his native land, this volume confirms Yeats’s conviction that imagination is the source of both life and art. First published in 1888.

In addition to editing, Yeats’ contributions include “The Stolen Child” and “The Priest of Coloony.”

[Wade 223].