Irish Fairy Tales (illustrated by Arthur Rackham, 1920) is a captivating collection of Celtic folklore, where the golden-age master of fantasy art brings Ireland’s mythical past to life with his ethereal watercolors and intricate ink drawings. This anthology gathers timeless stories of heroes, enchantresses, and the Otherworld—tales like The Children of Lir (swans cursed by a jealous stepmother) and Oisín in Tír na nÓg (a bard’s tragic return from the land of eternal youth).
Rackham’s illustrations shimmer with gnarled trees that whisper secrets, waves that morph into spectral horses, and fairies with moth-wing delicacy. His signature style—at once whimsical and eerie—perfectly captures the duality of Irish myth: its humor and sorrow, its earthy magic and melancholy. The text, drawn from traditional sources like Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats, retains the oral cadence of fireside storytelling.
A pinnacle of Rackham’s career, influencing later fantasy artists like Brian Froud.
“Rackham didn’t just draw fairies—he caught them mid-flight, dust still sparkling from their wings.” — The Illustrated London News, 1921
