The King of Ireland’s Son

Without doubt, The King of Ireland’s Son is the best of Padraic Colum’s books. Originally published in 1916, this classic has stood the test of time and remains one of the greatest set of tales ever—full of humor, imagination and drama.

This edition has been freshly typeset in a modern font, as well as carefully edited, annotated and endnoted, allowing the reader to enter fully into all the often playful subtlety of meaning Colum gives to the names, places and objects in the tale. In addition, the pronunciation of the Irish and Celtic names and words has been noted, often with a background note or two as to their meaning.

These are no stories retold by an academic or scholar, but rousing, living tales recounted from Colum’s own childhood in Ireland. There, as a boy, he heard firsthand the myths and sagas, folk and fairy tales from itinerant storytellers who wandered the roads and told their stories in exchange for a roof over their heads and a bite to eat. He was a witness to the last generation of a long tradition stretching far back into the mists of time. Colum won awards and recognition aplenty for his work in his adopted country, the United States, and for the whole of his long life he carried on the storyteller’s tradition. Even now, though he is long gone from us, his voice still sounds fresh and clear and full of life through the written text.

Willy Pogany, a Hungarian artist, was a contemporary of Colum. He illustrated this volume with a wonderful sense of artistic fantasy and playfulness.