Notes on Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales

After finishing the last book I read, I figured that it would be alright if I took an easier challenge. I picked up the Penguin Popular Classics' Scottish Folk & Fairy Tales edited by Gordon Jarvie. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, somewhere between an Arthurian legend or The Mabinogion or even something like a Grimm's. It was nothing like the Mabinogion and had an element of Grimm folk tale to it, but it was a lot lighter. In the moments it was a bit sinister, it was done almost at a Classic Disney level - enough to frighten younger readers, but not enough to offend the sensibilities of said young readers' parents. That said, the book was a pretty good read. I think it should be something read to children to get them interested in good literature and plan on making a note of that for the future. Some of this criticism is probably unfair because it really felt like a children's book in the beginning and that sort of dissipated the further into the book you got. It was an anthology and the tone was set by the first seven little folk tales written by the same author. It was her stories that really made it feel younger reader oriented.

But, as is the case with all anthologies, a couple of the stories really stood out to me. The story of Tam Lin, the first traditional folk tale in the order, was the salvation that kept me going through as it was relatively close to the beginning of the book. Which I am glad because there were a couple of really good stories later on. Assipattle and the Mester Stoorworm was another one I enjoyed. Ever since I read the Orkneyinga Saga, I have found myself fascinated by Orkney and lo and behold, one of my favorite Scottish fairy tale comes from the Orkney Island. Plus, it was a genesis story of sorts and I always find those enthralling. The last big chunk of the Book was The Gold of Fairnilee, 'a classic victorian fairy tale'. Given that it was written by Andrew Lang, a specialist in Scottish folklore, it was probably the best story outside of Assipattle.

Lastly, the most intriguing story was by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His Through the Veil was excellent. The writing was good and its colloquial, phonetic writing of the Scottish dialogue was nice, but what set the story apart was the intriguing subject matter. After finishing that one, I thought it would be a good idea to appropriate the concept and turn it into a different short story of my own.