The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.
Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales from Burns to Buchan, ed Gordon Jarvie
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.So many of these tales are concerned with loss and death – the loss of children or a partner, or the threat of extinction from an alien hand – that it's no surprise to learn many were written either against the backdrop of war or famine, or about a specific battle or conflict. The hope of survival in another form is apparent too, with vanished lovers or children being transformed into birds or animals, giving many of the stories an added poignancy.
As the title suggests, the fairy or folk tale is also a form that has attracted the best and most famous of Scotland's writers – Burns, Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson, John Buchan and Arthur Conan Doyle all feature here. It would seem neither J M Barrie nor Sir Walter Scott wrote a folk or fairy tale, and yet they're the two writers one would have expected to embrace the magical, and the sense of loss, most readily. One small quibble – I'd have liked to have known, where possible, when the stories were written or published, as dates can be both significant and revealing.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments