Sixteen-year-old Mary Makebelieve shares a small room with her mother, a charwoman, in the tenements of early twentieth-century Dublin. While Mrs. Makebelieve is at work cleaning the houses of the wealthy, Mary wanders around the city and its parks absorbed in daydreams. Her encounter with a policeman who appears to signal romantic interest in her is the beginning of Mary's coming-of-age story, which combines elements of folk- or fairytale with a complex vision of human psychology and the ...

When the ancient god Pan appears in Ireland and the beautiful Caitilin Ni Murrachu decides to follow him, her father asks an old philosopher to deliver her back. In his quest, the philosopher requests the help of the Celtic god of love, experiences catharsis, and is apprehended by policemen tipped off by leprechauns, provoking a second rescue mission-for himself.It is through this humorous mixture of philosophy and Irish folklore that James Stephens presents deep philosophical ques...

Irish Fairy Tales is a retelling of ten Irish folktales by the Irish author James Stephens. The English illustrator Arthur Rackham provided interior artwork, including numerous black and white illustrations and sixteen color plates. The stories are set in a wooded, Medieval Ireland filled with larger-than-life hunters, warriors, kings, and fairies. Many stories concern the Fianna and their captain, Fionn mac Uail, from the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology.

Patsy Mac Cann spends his days wandering rural Ireland with his daughter Mary Mac Cann and their donkey. They set up camp for the night and are surprised by the appearance of three demi-gods. The demi-gods, strangers to humanity and in need of guidance, decide to follow the Mac Canns. The group begins their adventure on the winding Irish roads, encountering locals-each with their own story to tell.In The Demi-Gods James Stephens takes us on a journey of storytelling, weavi...

Once on a time Conachúr mac Nessa was on a journey, and had to pass the night at the house of Felimid mac Dall, his storyteller. He was annoyed because his wife, Maeve, had not come with him, but Maeve had the knack of annoying him more than any one else was able to; so that when he thought of her his mind went intriguing and adventuring, for he was always trying to get the better of her, and was seldom without the feeling that she was getting or had just got the best of him. For this reas...

The Extra Things added to the BookAdded details biography of AuthorAdded Index to get a quick view and interfaceJames Stephens was an Irish novelist and poet.

The story is about a man named Fergus Fionnliath who dislikes dogs, and Fionn, the son of Uail, who is fond of them. Fionn's mother, Muirne, and aunt, Tuiren, visit him and his companions, the Fianna. Tuiren falls in love with an Ulster gentleman, Iollan Eachtach and they get married, but Iollan has a past with a lady of the Shi’ named Uct Dealv, with whom he was sweetheart for years.

The story of a young girl raised in isolation in preparation to marry the King of Ulster sounds at first a little outdated.That is until you call it what it is - an arranged marriage and child abuse.These are themes that continue to exist and they give 'Deirdre' a resonance in the 21st century.The girl at the heart of the story eventually falls in love with a young man and they run away to Scotland - cue much relief.There is a nasty twist in the tale, howeve...

Irish Fairy Tales is a retelling of ten Irish folktales by the Irish author James Stephens. The stories are set in a wooded, Medieval Ireland filled with larger-than-life hunters, warriors, kings, and fairies. Many stories concern the Fianna and their captain, Fionn mac Uail, from the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology.|Wikipedia|StoriesThe Story of Tuan mac CairillThe Boyhood of FionnThe Birth of BranOisín's MotherThe Wooing of BecfolaT...

The legend of antiquated Ireland wakes up in this accumulation of great people stories retold for current perusers.

The Crock of Gold is a comic novel written by Irish author James Stephens and first published in 1912.A mixture of philosophy, Irish folklore and the "battle of the sexes", it consists of six books, Book 1 – The Coming of Pan, Book 2 – The Philosophers Journey, Book 3 – The Two Gods, Book 4 – The Philosophers Return, Book 5 – The Policemen, Book 6 – The Thin Woman's Journey, that rotate around a philosopher and his quest to find the most beautiful woman in the world, Cáitilin Ni Mu...

The Story of Tuan Mac Caurill by James Stephens is a captivating tale of a mythical Irish figure's exploits and adventures in the early medieval period. It is an exemplary example of oral tradition in Celtic literature and provides an interesting insight into pre-Christian Ireland’s cultural and religious beliefs. The story itself follows the eponymous character as he faces multiple obstacles, culminating in a showdown between himself and the High King at Tara.