In Search of the Swan Maiden

In Search of the Swan Maiden
Author: Barbara Fass Leavy
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 387
Release: 1995-07-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0814752683

In her compendious study, [of the folktale of the runaway wife] Leavy argues that the contradictory claims of nature and culture are embodied in the legendary figure of the swan maiden, a woman torn between the human and bestial worlds. --The New York Times Book Review This is a study of the meaning of gender as framed by the swan maiden tale, a story found in the folklore of virtually every culture. The swan maiden is a supernatural woman forced to marry, keep house, and bear children for a mortal man who holds the key to her imprisonment. When she manages to regain this key, she escapes to the otherworld, never to return. These tales have most often been interpreted as depicting exogamous marriages, describing the girl from another tribe trapped in a world where she will always be the outsider. Barbara Fass Leavy believes that, in the societies in which the tale and its variants endured, woman was the other--the outsider trapped in a society that could never be her own. Leavy shows how the tale, though rarely explicitly recognized, is frequently replayed in modern literature. Beautifully written, this book reveals the myriad ways in which the folktales of a society reflect its cultural values, and particularly how folktales are allegories of gender relations. It will interest anyone involved in literary, gender, and cultural studies.

Melvin Burgess

Melvin Burgess
Author: Alison Waller
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2013-10-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1137262818

Melvin Burgess has made a powerful name for himself in the world of children's and young adult literature, emerging in the 1990s as the author of over twenty critically acclaimed novels. This collection of original essays by a team of established and new scholars introduces readers to the key debates surrounding Burgess's most challenging work, including controversial young adult novels Junk and Doing It. Covering a variety of critical and theoretical perspectives, the volume also presents exciting new readings of some of his less familiar fiction for children, and features an interview with the author.

The Celtic Breeze

The Celtic Breeze
Author: Heather McNeil
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2001-10-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0313009686

Delve into a world of kelpies, mermaids, selkies, ghosts, warlords, and fairies. This collection gives you Celtic tales, previously unrecorded or only found in obscure compilations. Mostly collected by the author on her ancestral home of the Isle of Barra in the Hebrides, these lesser-known tales from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales are supported by a brief history of the Celts, a glossary of the Gaelic integrated in the stories, an appendix of superstitions about fairy protection, and bibliographies that reflect the author's extensive research. Seventeen ballads collected almost one hundred years ago and excerpts from the author's journal of travels in Scotland make this book a unique and valuable resource for anyone who tells stories.

Legends from River and Mountain (Illustrated Edition)

Legends from River and Mountain (Illustrated Edition)
Author: Carmen Sylva
Publisher:
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2016-10-31
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781406879438

This collection contains English translations of a selection of Roumanian folk and fairy tales compiled by HM the Queen of Roumania, writing as Carmen Sylva, together with some stories from different parts of Germany. Illustrated throughout. First published in 1896.

The Book of English Folk Tales

The Book of English Folk Tales
Author: Sybil Marshall
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2016-11-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1468315242

A stunning collection of English folklore featuring stories of beasts, giants, ghosts, saints, and the Devil, as well as moral tales and tales of origins. Master storyteller, social historian, and folklorist Sybil Marshall scoured English history to bring together a fascinating collection of folk tales in one glorious edition. Out-of-print for over thirty years, Overlook is re-issuing this bewitching book to enchant a new audience. From the great mass of folk tales that exists, Sybil Marshall has chosen a wide variety of stories, retelling them with wit and suspense. We have her tales of the little people and of giants, of the Devil and the saints, and supernatural and moral tales. Let Sybil Marshall lead you through the old English countryside, exploring the beliefs and legends of time gone by. This beautiful edition, complete with wood engraved illustrations by John Lawrence, will entertain, educate, and ensnare audiences of all ages. “A compilation of vivid, sometimes fearsome stories . . . The England we visit here has no afternoon teas or jolly rounds of cricket on lovely green lawns. In these pages, the sophisticated reader steps onto older, darker soil half-soaked in blood, superstition, and magic. . . . Wood engravings by John Lawrence deepen our sense of the blackened accretion of centuries in this fascinating collection.” —Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal

Delaware's Forgotten Folk

Delaware's Forgotten Folk
Author: C. A. Weslager
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2012-07-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0812208080

"It is offered not as a textbook nor as a scientific discussion, but merely as reading entertainment founded on the life history, social struggle, and customs of a little-known people."—From the Preface C. A. Weslager's Delaware's Forgotten Folk chronicles the history of the Nanticoke Indians and the Cheswold Moors, from John Smith's first encounter with the Nanticokes along the Kuskakarawaok River in 1608, to the struggles faced by these uniquely multiracial communities amid the racial and social tensions of mid-twentieth-century America. It explores the legend surrounding the origin of the two distinct but intricately intertwined groups, focusing on how their uncommon racial heritage—white, black, and Native American—shaped their identity within society and how their traditional culture retained its significance into their present. Weslager's demonstrated command of available information and his familiarity with the people themselves bespeak his deep respect for the Moor and Nanticoke communities. What began as a curious inquiry into the overlooked peoples of the Delaware River Valley developed into an attentive and thoughtful study of a distinct group of people struggling to remain a cultural community in the face of modern opposition. Originally published in 1943, Delaware's Forgotten Folk endures as one of the fundamental volumes on understanding the life and history of the Nanticoke and Moor peoples.

Folk Tales from the North York Moors

Folk Tales from the North York Moors
Author: Peter Norman Walker
Publisher: Robert Hale
Total Pages: 184
Release: 1990
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

A selection of folklore about the North York Moors, closely linked with the features of its landscape, and often providing explanations of place-names and landmarks. Meet the serpent of Sexhow, the mermaids of Staithes and learn how Robin Hood's Bay came to be named.