Synopses & Reviews
"Here are faithful lovers, women who entice or endure, couples who contend or who are contented, eternal triangles that evolve around the marriage of May to December and the younger man, lovers lost and found, emotions that are harmonious or touched by the fiery sear of jealousy. Erotic and secretive or blatantly celebrated, here the love stories come from the heart of passionate Celtic tradition."
-- from the Introduction
In ten beautifully written tales of devotion, Celtic Love shares "the one story worth the telling," the one that strikes most nearly to the heart, the one we most with to hear. Evoking the passion and longing of Celtic tradition and history, Caitlin Matthews captures the untamed natures and amorous yearning of these age-old stories. Throughout this collection, the desire of the lover for the beloved is fanned "by restraint, by absence, by whisper or glance, by stolen kiss, by secret embrace, by song, poem, and story."
Matthews recounts stories of love defeated, and love triumphant, in the tongue-in-cheek parable of Mongan and the forgotten British myth of Fflur, the Flower Bride. "The Casket of Memory" travels through worlds and lifetimes in Midir's faithful search for his beloved Etain. The final story, "What Women Most Desire," told by the street-wise faery Ragnell, puts true love to the ultimate test.
Synopsis
A Treasure Trove Of Stories in celebration of love, Celtic Love runs the gamut from the erotic to the tragic, the comic to the cosmic. Drawing upon her expertise in the Celtic tradition, Matthews gathers age-old stories of love from a variety of sources, including folklore and mainstream literature. With depictions of love triangles, fairy-tale love, unrequited love, and lovers lost and found, Celtic Love is sure to appeal to a broad readership and will be a way to give the gift of love for years to come.
About the Author
Caitlin Matthews is a respected teacher of Celtic traditions, shamanism, British myths, and practical spirituality. The author of thirty-six books, she lives in Oxford, U.K.