The Folk-Tales of the Magyarscollected by Kriza, Erdélyi, Pap, and Others

Buried in the mountains of Hungary lies a storytelling tradition that predates the nation itself. The Folk-Tales of the Magyars gathers ancient narratives passed down through generations of Magyar people, presenting them in English for the first time in this landmark 19th-century collection. These are not sanitized fairy tales. Here are giants who war with humans, fairies who weave enchantments, witches with ancient powers, and dragons guarding treasure in the hills. The stories emerged from a land that was once the cockpit of Eastern Europe, where countless tribes fought and merged, each leaving their mark on the folklore. The Székely people, among the most stubborn preservers of this tradition, feature prominently. What makes this collection invaluable is its fidelity to the original tellers' manner. The translators labored until dawn to capture not just the plot but the voice of the Magyar story-teller, making this as close to sitting by the fire in a Hungarian village as an English reader can get. For folklorists, comparatists, and anyone hungry for stories outside the familiar Germanic and French traditions, this is a door into a rich and strange world.