The Scottish Fairy Book, Volume Three

By: Elizabeth W Grierson

Narrated by: Steven Cree

Length: 1 hr and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Volume 3 - the final six Scottish fairy tales to complete the collection, perfect for children (and adults) of all ages.

There are, roughly speaking, two distinct types of Scottish fairy tales. There are what may be called Celtic stories, which were handed down for centuries by word of mouth by professional storytellers who went about from clachan to clachan in the Highlands and Islands, earning a night's shelter by giving a night's entertainment, and which have now been collected and classified for us by Campbell of Isla and others.

These stories, which are also common to the North of Ireland, are wild and fantastic and very often somewhat monotonous, and their themes are strangely alike. They almost always tell of some hero or heroine who sets out on some dangerous quest and is met by giants, generally three in number, who appear one after the other, with whom they hold quaint dialogues, and whom eventually they slay.

Most of them are fairly long, and although they have a peculiar fascination of their own, they are quite distinct from the ordinary fairy tale. These latter, in Scotland, have also a character of their own, for there is no country where the existence of spirits and goblins has been so implicitly believed in up to a comparatively recent date.

Volume 3 of traditional Scottish fairy/folk tales, as collected and edited by Elizabeth W Grierson and originally published in 1910.

Volume 3 contains the following tales: 'The Fox and the Wolf', 'Katherine Crackernuts', 'The Well o' the World's End', 'Farquhar MacNeill', 'Peerifool', 'The Heather Lintie'.

Read by Steven Cree(Outlander, Brave, John Carter, 300: Rise of an Empire , Maleficent). Volumes 1 and 2 are also available, as is a complete collection.

Public Domain (P)2014 Spokenworld Audio & Ladbroke Audio Ltd

Critic reviews

"This is a lovely set of stories for all ages that captures the tradition of Scottish story-telling for future generations. As I have come to expect from Spokenworld, the production on the audio is excellent and the music very well chosen. This collection would make a lovely gift for children of any age or just a great excuse to get back into listening to traditional bedtime stories." (The Cult Den)