Irish Folk Tales

This edition includes ten Irish folk tales, collected and literarily processed in the first half of the 20th century by the writer, playwright, poet, and author of «The Popular History of Ireland» Seamus MacManus. All texts are presented in the translation of Semyon Grigoryevich Zaymovsky. The book is adorned with original initials, ornaments, decorative headers, as well as more than thirty illustrations by American illustrator Frank Verbeck.

In recent Irish history, there have been many people who carefully collected the folklore of their homeland. A well-known popularizer of its ancient myths was James Stephens. His like-minded companion was the writer and playwright Seamus MacManus. He was born in late 1867 in northern Ireland in a family of a merchant living in the small village of Tantalon. Seamus began recording tales after becoming a school teacher. He often listened to how they were recited by shanachies — as professional storytellers were called in Ireland. They passed down sagas, legends, and tales orally, without writing them down. MacManus understood very well that this national treasure must be recorded on paper. His love for Irish folklore and literature also helped Seamus arrange his personal life. His first wife in 1901 was the Irish poet Etna Carbery. Unfortunately, illness cut her life short. Perhaps that is why MacManus soon decided to start a new life. He crossed the Atlantic and began to publish the tales he had collected in American magazines. There, in the USA, in 1921, his «The Popular History of Ireland» was published. The writer lived a very long life, surpassing ninety years and leaving behind collections of tales from his homeland.

The tales in this book are illustrated with drawings by American artist Frank Verbeck. In his homeland, in Ohio, and beyond, he earned a reputation as a talented animal artist. Frank was born in the mid-19th century. His father was a simple shoemaker who skillfully wielded a knife and thread. Perhaps that is why Frank initially became a carver. He was especially good at creating figures of animals. He began to draw them, and soon whimsical depictions of animals and birds began to emerge from his pen, whose expressions, poses, movements, and sometimes even faces remarkably resembled humans. Following his talent, Verbeck moved to New York, where he received an artistic education. His drawings began to regularly appear in various American magazines. The greatest pleasure for Frank came from working on projects with cheerful fairy tale plots related to animals. He illustrated «The Golf Guide for Bears,» one of Baum's books from the series about the magical land of Oz, some of Harris's tales about Uncle Remus, «Bedtime Animal Tales,» and many other similar publications. Among them are the Irish tales illustrated by him, collected by Seamus MacManus.