Tales From Across the Globe
Africa:
- African Folktales: Traditional Stories of the Black World (compiled by Roger D. Abrahams, 1983)
- African Folktales with Foreign Analogues (compiled by May Augusta Klipple, 1992)
- Black Short Fiction and Folklore: from Africa and the African Diaspora
Aims to be an in-depth collection of African and African-Diaspora stories. When complete, it will feature the English-language literature of more than 15 countries, with additional units of French and Portuguese literature from the African continent.
East Asia:
- Myths and Legends of China (translated by E.E.C. Werner, 1922; 1994)
- Folk Tales from Korea (collected and translated by Zŏng In-sŏb, 1952; 1982)
Europe:
- Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race (by T.W. Rolleston)
Thomas William Hazen Rolleston (1857-1920) was an Irish writer, literary figure and translator known for works that spanned a wide range of literary and political topics. He wrote Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race in 1911 in an attempt to revitalize what he felt was a waning appreciation for the heritage of all Celtic peoples. Perhaps the best representation and description of all the legends, myths and spiritual histories of Ireland, Britain and Wales, this collection includes the stories of Ultonian and Ossianic cycles, the voyage of Maeldum, and the myths and tales of the Cymry (Welsh). Rolleston also provides the fantastic narratives of Cuchulain, King Arthur, Deirdre, the Grail, and many more. This book is also available online via Project Gutenberg.
North and South America:
- African American Folktales: Stories from Black Traditions in the New World (compiled by Roger D. Abrahams, 1985; 1999)
- Tales of the North American Indians (compiled by Stith Thompson, 1929; 2013
South Asia:
- The Jātaka, or, Stories of the Buddha's Former Births (translated and edited by E.B. Cowell, 1895-1907)
- The Kathā Sarīt Sāgara: or, Ocean of the Streams of Story (Somadeva Bhaṭṭa, 11th Century; translated by C.H. Tawney, 1880-[87])
- The Oral Tales of India (collected and translated by Stith Thompson and Jonas Balys, 1958; 1976)
- Tales from the River Brahmaputra : Tibet, India, Bangladesh (Tiziana and Gianni Baldizzone, 1998)
Southeast Asia:
Featured Books
An Anthology of Russian Folk Epics
James Bailey & Tatyana Ivanova, editors
1998
Norse Myths
Kevin Crossley-Holland
1980
The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm
1812
Celtic Fairy Tales
Joseph Jacobs
1892
The Fairy Books of Many Colors
Andrew Lang
1889 - 1913, 12 volumes
See also: Selections in Nineteenth Century Collections Online
The Classic Fairy Tales
Maria Tatar, editor
1999
One Hundred Favorite Folktales
Stith Thompson, editor
1976
The Classic of Poetry
Chu Binjie, editor
1999
Irish Fairy and Folk Tales
William Butler Yeats
1918, c2003
The Great Fairy Tale Tradition
Jack Zipes, editor
2001
The Nibelungenlied
A.T. Hatto, editor
1969
The Saga of the Volsungs
Jesse L. Byock, editor
1990
The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki
Jesse L. Byock, editor
1998
The Prose Edda
Snorri Sturluson
c. 1220
The Mabinogion
Sioned Davies, editor
2008
For a more accessible, modernized translation written in collaboration with a playwright, try The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, by Celtic Studies scholar Matthieu Boyd (a Ph.D. graduate of Harvard's department of Celtic Languages and Literatures). This volume is especially recommended for newcomers to the Mabinogion.
One Thousand and One Nights
Malcolm C. Lyons & Ursula Lyons, editors
2007
African Folktales
Paul Radin, editor
1964
Cajun and Creole Folktales
Barry Jean Ancelet
1994