Celtic Wonder Tales

Ella Young (1867-1956) was an Irish poet, political activist, and mystic. Her interest in Theosophy led her to become an early member of the Hermetic Society, and her acquaintance with George William Russell led to her becoming one of his select group of proteges, known as the "singing birds." Her first volume of verse, titled simply Poems, was published in 1906. She became friends with Yeats's erstwhile flame Maud Gonne, and Gonne illustrated her first book of stories, Celtic Wonder Tales (1910). Although she continued to write poetry, it was for her redactions of traditional Irish legends that she became best known; among her later books were The Wonder Smith, The Tangle-Coated Horse, and The Unicorn with Silver Shoes. Later in life, Young emigrated to the United States. Her later writings grew increasingly mystical, and she found particular affinity in the California Redwoods.