Research Catalog

Title

Celtic myth in contemporary children's fantasy : idealization, identity, ideology / Dimitra Fimi.

Author

Fimi, Dimitra

Publication

• London : This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature, [2017]
• ©2017

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xiii, 305 pages : illustrations; 22 cm

Summary

This book examines the creative uses of "Celtic" myth in contemporary fantasy written for children or young adults from the 1960s to the 2000s. Its scope ranges from classic children's fantasies such as Lloyd Alexander's 'The Chronicles of Prydain' and Alan Garner's 'The Owl Service', to some of the most recent, award-winning fantasy authors of the last decade, such as Kate Thompson ('The New Policeman') and Catherine Fisher ('Darkhenge'). The book focuses on the ways these fantasy works have appropriated and adapted Irish and Welsh medieval literature in order to highlight different perceptions of "Celticity." The term "Celtic" itself is interrogated in light of recent debates in Celtic studies, in order to explore a fictional representation of a national past that is often romanticized and political.

Series Statement

Critical approaches to children's literature

Uniform Title

Critical approaches to children's literature.

Subjects

• Fantasy fiction, American > History and criticism
• Children's stories, English > History and criticism
• Mythology, Celtic, in literature
• Fantasy fiction, English > History and criticism
• Children's stories, American > History and criticism

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

• Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children's Fantasy; Note on Spelling and Dating; Acknowledgements; Contents; List of Figures; 1 Introduction: "Celticity," Fantasy, and the Child Readership; Fantasy: Tropes, Categories, Structure; Myth, Legend, Folktale, and their Relation to Fantasy: Reception and Adaptation; The Celts, Celticity, and "Celtic" Myth; Children's Literature, Celticity, and Ideology; Unravelling Celticity: The Structure of This Study; Notes; Part I Irish Myth; 2 Otherworldly Ireland: Pat O'Shea's The Hounds of the Mórrígan and Kate Thompson's The New Policeman
• Revisiting the Ancient Irish DeitiesIrish Landscape and Images of Celticity in Tír-na-nÓg; From Pagan "Gods" to Irish Folklore; Celtic Past and Christian Present -- Redux; Conclusions; Notes; 3 Celticity and the Irish Diaspora: Rewriting Finn mac Cumhall and Ćuchulain for American Youngsters; Mary Tannen's The Wizard Children of Finn; Mary Tannen's The Lost Legend of Finn; Henry Neff's The Tapestry Series; The Hero's Journeys of Max McDaniels and Ćuchulain; Irish Gods and Goddesses: Weaving a New Tapestry of Myth; Irishness, Celticity and the Material Culture of The Tapestry; Conclusion; Notes
• Part II Welsh Myth4 Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain: Building Fantasy upon Forgery; Prydain and Wales; Fantasy Templates: from "Welshifying" The Lord of the Rings to "Filling the Gaps" of Welsh Tradition; Prydain and the Counterfeit Tradition; Feisty Girls, Oracular Pigs, Evil Enchantresses, and Triple Goddesses; Conclusions; Notes; 5 Welsh Heritage for Teenagers: Alan Garner, Jenny Nimmo, Catherine Fisher; Alan Garner: The Owl Service; Jenny Nimmo: The Magician Trilogy; Catherine Fisher's Darkhenge; Conclusions; Notes
• 6 Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Sequence and the Arthur of the WelshThe "Dark Ages" and a Celto-Roman Arthur; The Arthur of Welsh Legend and Folklore; Wales and Celticity: "Oldest Hills," Celtic Stereotypes, and Gravesian Interpretations; Conclusions; Notes; 7 Conclusion: Celticity and "Celtic" Heritage; (Re)Defining the "Celts," "Celtic" History, and "Celtic" Mythology; The "Celtic" Past as National/Cultural Heritage; The "Celtic" Character; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Call Number

JFD 17-3158

ISBN

• 9781137552815
• 1137552816

OCLC

984224896

Author

Fimi, Dimitra, author.

Title

Celtic myth in contemporary children's fantasy : idealization, identity, ideology / Dimitra Fimi.

Publisher

London : This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature, [2017]

Copyright Date

©2017

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Critical approaches to children's literature

Critical approaches to children's literature.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Form:

Online version: Fimi, Dimitra. Celtic myth in contemporary children's fantasy. London : This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature, [2017] 9781137552822 (OCoLC)974802851

Research Call Number

JFD 17-3158