a less whimsical illustration that encapsulates the fun of searching an archive of over 15

The Archive...

Have a wander through the Fireside folktale archive below, and see what you stumble into. Use the filters to narrow the world down, or fling the doors wide and browse by country, region, theme, collector, or whatever takes your fancy, then let the table do the rest. A few clicks can carry you from storm-tossed coasts to mountain villages, from clever tricksters to quiet miracles, and you will often find that the story you meant to read is not the one that chooses you.

Archive under construction...

Structured Filters

Use these drop down lists to choose one or more filters to select groups of tales to investigate in more detail

Other than my own versions of tales (as indicated), the stories in this archive are in the public domain

Stories in this view:

3988

Title	Book	Author / Collector	Country	Subject	Year
Orpheus And Eurydice (2)	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	Orpheus And Eurydice: love, loss, music, mourning, descent, hope, doubt, separation	1897
The Wood-Folk	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	The Wood-Folk: nature, enchantment, mystery, wildness, music, fear, wonder, transformation	1897
The Judgment Of Midas	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	The Judgment Of Midas: greed, folly, wish, consequence, wealth, appetite, lesson, transformation	1897
The Adventures Of Odysseus	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	The Adventures Of Odysseus: journey, cunning, endurance, homecoming, temptation, monsters, loyalty, perseverance	1897
Oedipus (3)	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	Oedipus: fate, prophecy, identity, blindness, truth, guilt, kingship, tragedy	1897
The Trial Of Psyche	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	The Trial Of Psyche: endurance, jealousy, labour, suffering, love, resilience, divine testing, reward	1897
Phaethon	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	Phaethon: ambition, recklessness, identity, divine power, catastrophe, hubris, fire, downfall	1897
Atalanta's Race	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	Atalanta’s Race: speed, courtship, cunning, competition, desire, fate, marriage, challenge	1897
Arachne (1)	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	Arachne: pride, artistry, rivalry, hubris, punishment, weaving, divine justice, transformation	1897
The House Of Agamemnon	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	The House Of Agamemnon: revenge, murder, inheritance, curse, justice, betrayal, family, bloodshed	1897
The Calydonian Hunt (4)	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	The Calydonian Hunt: heroism, challenge, rivalry, glory, vengeance, teamwork, conflict, honour	1897
Niobe (2)	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	Niobe: pride, motherhood, grief, boasting, divine wrath, loss, punishment, mourning	1897
The Deluge (2)	Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew	Josephine Preston Peabody	Greece	The Deluge: flood, punishment, survival, renewal, divine wrath, refuge, rebirth, humanity	1897
Jupiter And His Mighty Company	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	Jupiter And His Mighty Company: gods, power, order, rebellion, divine hierarchy, authority, creation, conflict, governance, mythic cosmos	1895
The Golden Age (1)	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Golden Age: innocence, abundance, peace, harmony, simplicity, nature, paradise, decline, nostalgia, lost world	1895
The Story Of Prometheus	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Story Of Prometheus: rebellion, fire, creation, defiance, suffering, punishment, humanity, foresight, gift, endurance	1895
The Flood (3)	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Flood: destruction, renewal, divine judgement, survival, piety, rebirth, catastrophe, humanity, mercy, beginnings	1895
The Story Of Io	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Story Of Io: desire, jealousy, transformation, wandering, suffering, persecution, divine power, exile, endurance, rescue	1895
The Wonderful Weaver	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Wonderful Weaver: weaving, pride, artistry, challenge, transformation, punishment, rivalry, talent, hubris, metamorphosis	1895
The Lord Of The Silver Bow	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Lord Of The Silver Bow: plague, divine wrath, prophecy, music, archery, purity, vengeance, power, healing, awe	1895
Admetus And Alcestis (2)	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	Admetus And Alcestis: love, sacrifice, marriage, devotion, death, fate, loyalty, grief, redemption, hospitality	1895
Cadmus And Europa	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	Cadmus And Europa: abduction, exile, quest, kingship, transformation, divine intervention, foundation, family, destiny, wandering	1895
The Quest Of Medusa's Head	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Quest Of Medusa’s Head: quest, bravery, monsters, divine aid, cunning, peril, transformation, triumph, fate, heroism	1895
The Story Of Atalanta (1)	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Story Of Atalanta: swiftness, independence, suitors, challenge, love, competition, choice, gender, destiny, transformation	1895
The Horse And The Olive	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Horse And The Olive: rivalry, wisdom, civilisation, patronage, city-founding, gift, gods, choice, identity, prosperity	1895
The Wonderful Artisan	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Wonderful Artisan: craftsmanship, invention, skill, pride, creation, ingenuity, art, marvels, mastery, legacy	1895
The Cruel Tribute	Old Greek Stories	James Baldwin	Greece	The Cruel Tribute: oppression, sacrifice, fear, tyranny, youth, courage, rescue, monster, liberation, defiance	1895
Kind William And The Water Sprite	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	Kind William And The Water Sprite: kindness, enchantment, loyalty, danger, reward	1882
The Widows And The Strangers	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Widows And The Strangers: hospitality, suspicion, charity, disguise, reward	1882
The Nix In Mischief	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Nix In Mischief: mischief, river-spirit, trickery, disruption, comeuppance	1882
The Magic Jar	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Magic Jar: temptation, secrecy, greed, wonder, consequence	1882
The Laird And The Man Of Peace	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	Scotland	The Laird And The Man Of Peace: pride, bargains, fairy powers, social rank	1882
The Fiddler In The Fairy Ring	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Fiddler In The Fairy Ring: music, enchantment, temptation, otherworld peril	1882
The Cobbler And The Ghosts	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Cobbler And The Ghosts: poverty, craft, haunting, fear, unexpected help	1882
The Magician Turned Mischief-Maker	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Magician Turned Mischief-Maker: magic, trickery, chaos, punishment, reversal	1882
Murdoch's Rath	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	Ireland	Murdoch’s Rath: courage, haunting, mystery, inheritance, supernatural trial	1882
The Ogre Courting	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Ogre Courting: grotesque wooing, fear, comic menace, escape	1882
The Magicians' Gifts	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Magicians’ Gifts: blessings, unintended consequences, power, judgement, irony	1882
The Little Darner	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Little Darner: smallness, skill, perseverance, transformation, usefulness	1882
Knave And Fool	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	Knave And Fool: cunning, folly, deception, wit, reversal	1882
The First Wife's Wedding-Ring	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The First Wife’s Wedding-Ring: memory, marriage, loss, jealousy, haunting	1882
Good Luck Is Better Than Gold	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	Good Luck Is Better Than Gold: fortune, contentment, humility, prosperity, wisdom	1882
I Won't	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	I Won’t: stubbornness, obedience, pride, consequences, wilful defiance	1882
Under The Sun	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	Under The Sun: quest, marvels, endurance, wonder, destiny	1882
The Hillman And The Housewife	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Hillman And The Housewife: domesticity, fairy encounter, hospitality, exchange, consequence	1882
The Neck, A Legend Of A Lake	Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales	Juliana Horatia Ewing	England	The Neck, A Legend Of A Lake: seduction, water-spirit, music, longing, doom	1882
Orlando Furioso - Canto 1	Orlando Furioso	Lodovico Ariosto	Italy	Orlando Furioso: chivalry, unrequited love, madness, honour, heroic quest, war, magic, betrayal, romance, Christian and Saracen conflict	1516
Orlando Furioso - Canto 2	Orlando Furioso	Lodovico Ariosto	Italy	Orlando Furioso: chivalry, unrequited love, madness, honour, heroic quest, war, magic, betrayal, romance, Christian and Saracen conflict	1516
Orlando Furioso - Canto 3	Orlando Furioso	Lodovico Ariosto	Italy	Orlando Furioso: chivalry, unrequited love, madness, honour, heroic quest, war, magic, betrayal, romance, Christian and Saracen conflict	1516
Orlando Furioso - Canto 4	Orlando Furioso	Lodovico Ariosto	Italy	Orlando Furioso: chivalry, unrequited love, madness, honour, heroic quest, war, magic, betrayal, romance, Christian and Saracen conflict	1516

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