Focusing on representations of Celtic motifs and traditions in post-1980s adult fantasy literature, this book illuminates how the historical, the mythological and the folkloric have served as inspiration for the fantastic in modern and popular culture of the western world. Bringing together both highly-acclaimed works with those that have received less critical attention, including French and Gaelic fantasy literature, Imagining the Celtic Past in Modern Fantasy explores such texts as Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Alan Garner's Weirdstone trilogy, the Irish fantasies of Jodi McIsaac, David Gemmell's Rigante novels, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison Keltiad books, as well as An Sgoil Dhubh by Iain F. MacLeòid and the Vertigen and Frontier series by Léa Silhol. Lively and covering new ground, the collection examines topics such as fairy magic, Celtic-inspired worldbuilding, heroic patterns, classical ethnography and genre tropes alongside analyses of the Celtic Tarot in speculative fiction and Celtic appropriation in fan culture.Introducing a nuanced understanding of the Celtic past, as it has been informed by recent debates in Celtic studies, this wide-ranging and provocative book shows how modern fantasy is indebted to medieval Celtic-language texts, folkloric traditions, as well as classical sources.

List of IllustrationsList of ContributorsSeries Editors' PrefaceAcknowledgementsNote on SpellingIntroduction, Dr Dimitra Fimi (University of Glasgow, UK)Part 1: Celticity as Fantastic Intrusion1. Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: The Celtic Fairy Realm in Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Dr K. A. Laity (College of Saint Rose, USA)2. The Evolution of Alan Garner's Celticity in Boneland, Gwendolen Grant (Independent Scholar)3. Woman as Goddess in the Irish Fantasies of Jodi McIsaac, Kris Swank (Pima Community College, USA)Part 2: Celtic Fantasy Worlds and Heroes4. The Heroic Biographies Of Cú Chulainn and Connavar in the Rigante Series, Alistair J. P. Sims (Independent Scholar)5. Classical Ethnography and the World(s) of the Rigante, Anthony Smart (York St John University, UK)6. Celts in Spaaaaace!, Cheryl Morgan (Independent Scholar)Part 3: Celtic Fantasy Beyond the Anglophone7. From Vertigen to Frontier: The Fate of the Sidhes in Léa Silhol's Fiction, Viviane Bergue (Independent scholar)8. 'Chaidh e nas doimhne agus nas doimhne ann an seann theacsaichean': Gaelic history and legend in An Sgoil Dhubh by Iain F. MacLeòid, Duncan Sneddon (University of Edinburgh, UK)Part 4: Fantastic Perceptions of Celticity9. The Celtic Tarot in Speculative Fiction, Juliette Wood (Cardiff University, UK)10. Celtic Appropriation in Twenty-First-Century Fantasy Fan Perceptions, Angela R. Cox (Ball State University, USA)Index