The King of Ireland's Son sets out to find the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands and meets the Enchanter's daughter, Fedelma. His adventures lead him to the Land of the Mist, the Town of the Red Castle, and the worlds of Gilly of the Goatskin, the Hags of the Long Teeth, Princess Flame-of-Wine, and the Giant Crom Duv.

This is a true Irish wonder tale: a coming of age story of the youngest son of the King of Ireland who sets off on an impossible quest. The stories weave together, stories within stories, in a fantastic tapestry of humor, poetry, action, and adventure. Perfect for reading aloud at bedtime, generations of children have loved Padraic Colum's unmatched storytelling.

From master storyteller Padriac Colum, winner of a Newbery Honor for The Golden Fleece, comes a collection of fifteen timeless stories inspired by classic Greek literature. Travel back to a mythical time when Achilles, aided by the gods, waged war against the Trojans. And join Odysseus on his journey through murky waters, facing obstacles like the terrifying Scylla and whirring Charybdis, the beautiful enchantress Circe, and the land of the raging Cyclopes. Using narrative threads from The Iliad and The Odyssey, Padraic Colum weaves a stunning adventure with all the drama and power that Homer intended.

Born and raised in a Longford, Ireland workhouse, Padraic Colum left at seventeen to become a clerk in the Irish Railway Clearing House in Dublin. This venture was short-lived, however, and with the success of a few poems and a play, "The Saxon Shillin'," he left in 1904 to pursue a career in writing. His success as a dramatist, poet, novelist, essayist, biographer, children's writer and editor, as well as his participation in the founding of the Abbey Theatre, made Colum a central figure in the Irish literary renaissance. Colum wrote "The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy" in 1918 as a retelling of Homer's epic poems, "Iliad" and "Odyssey," intended for younger readers. It recounts the perilous adventures of Odysseus on his journey back from the war in Troy, including his encounter with the horrible Cyclops, the duplicitous Sirens, and the evil Circe. One of Colum's many successful children's novels, these stories will be enjoyed as much today as they were nearly a century ago.

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.

In this Comprehensive collection of tales from long ago are found all the legendary heroes and heroines and the tragic figures of ancient times: Iris, Osiris, Gilgamesh, Hercules, and Pandora, to name just a few. These primal stories, long held sacred, have carried their deeply human significance throughout the centuries.

Padraic Colum brings these stories to life again by recalling the rhythm and melody of traditional storytelling.

He also shows the close relationship between past cultures, including stories from ancient Egypt and Babylon, Greece and Rome, Ireland and Iceland, China and Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, and Peru.