The Penguin Book of Mermaids

*Includes "The Little Mermaid," now a major motion picture from Disney starring Halle Bailey and directed by Rob Marshall*Dive into centuries of mermaid lore with these captivating tales from around the world.A Penguin ClassicAmong the oldest and most popular mythical beings, mermaids and other merfolk have captured the imagination since long before Ariel sold her voice to a sea witch in the beloved Disney film adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." As far back as the eighth century B.C., sailors in Homer's Odyssey stuffed wax in their ears to resist the Sirens, who lured men to their watery deaths with song. More than two thousand years later, the gullible New York public lined up to witness a mummified "mermaid" specimen that the enterprising showman P. T. Barnum swore was real.The Penguin Book of Mermaids is a treasury of such tales about merfolk and water spirits from different cultures, ranging from Scottish selkies to Hindu water-serpents to Chilean sea fairies. A third of the selections are published here in English for the first time, and all are accompanied by commentary that explores their undercurrents, showing us how public perceptions of this popular mythical hybrid--at once a human and a fish--illuminate issues of gender, spirituality, ecology, and sexuality.For more than seventy-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 2,000 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Washington Post

“An especially welcome sampler.”

Los Angeles Review of Books

“Notable for its wide scope, both in terms of region and time period . . . [and its] highly perceptive introduction . . . We still crave supernatural creatures. The Penguin Book of Mermaids definitely satisfies that craving, drawing us into their narrative depths with alluring promises.”

Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Accessible yet rigorous, passionately diverse, and thoroughly spellbinding . . . Many-voiced, irresistible, and essential . . . [with] insightful story notes, generous attributions, and tantalizing bibliography. The desires and dangers of the shape-changing sea have rarely been so intelligently and inclusively showcased.”

Booklist

“Readers fascinated by myth and diverse cultures will find much to enjoy and ponder in this gathering of mermaid tales and assessment of how these beings reflect the complexities of human nature.”

Zoraida Córdova, author of The ViciousDeeptrilogy

“A perfect gift for the mermaid lover in your life. This nuanced and comprehensive look at mermaids and water deities includes stories I had never heard of; I found it enchanting.”

Jack Zipes, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota

“Superb: the first substantial anthology of mermaid stories. Nobody knows what mermaids are, but there is great enjoyment in reading tales that make us believe in them. They are alluring, demonic, vengeful, innocent, hypnotic, enchanting, and divine, and you can find all of them and more in The Penguin Book of Mermaids.”

who awaken both dread and desire

“Tapping into the seductive sorcery of mermaid lore, The Penguin Book of Mermaids reminds us why these aquatic beings

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Contents  Water Deities and Sirens from Olden Times   • Oannes • Kāliya, the Snake • Odysseus and the Sirens • The Tuna (Eel) of Lake Vaihiria  Mermaids and Other Merbeings in Europe  Merfolk in the Waters of Greenland and Iceland• The Marvels of the Waters about Greenland • The Merman  Two Mermaids and a Selkie from the Scottish Highlands • The Mermaid of Kessock • The Grey Selchie of Sule Skerrie • The Mermaid’s Grave   A Seal Woman or Maiden of the Sea from Ireland • Tom Moore and the Seal Woman   Dangerous Mermaids in Two Child Ballads • Clark Colven, Child 42A • The Mermaid, Child 289B   A Bavarian Freshwater Merman  • In the Jaws of the Merman.   A Freshwater Mermaid in Grimms’ Fairy Tales • The Nixie in the Pond   Estonian Water Spirits • Three Texts (untitled)   Two Greek Mermaids • New Tunes • The Mermaid   Merfolk from the South of Italy • A Mermaid’s Story • Cola Pesce • The Sailor and the Mermaid of the Sea  Literary Tales   • Legend of Melusina • Fortunio and the Siren • The Day after the Wedding, from Undine • The Little Mermaid • The Fisherman and His Soul • The Golden Mermaid • A Mermaid’s Tears • Abyssus Abyssum Invocat  Merfolk and Water Spirits Across the Globe  African Water Beings  • Yemọja   Merfolk in The Thousand and One Nights • Julnar the Mermaid and Her Son Badar Basim of Persia   A Persian Sea Fairy • The Sea Fairy   Three Khasi Narratives About Water Spirits • About K—, the River Goddess Who Exists in Jaintia Hills • How Water Tied a Covenant with Man and the Divine Nature of Water • About a Puri Enchantment  A Mer-Wife in the Indian Ocean • Shoān, a Nicobar Tale   A Hairy Chinese Mermaid • Mermaids   Mermaids from Japan  • The Mermaid • Yao Bikuni   Water Spirits of the Philippines • The Mermaid Queen • The Litao and Serena • The American and the Sirena of Amburayan • A Mermaid in Mabini • Mermaid   A Mer-Wife in Northern Australia • Karukayn (Mermaids)   A Chamorro Girl Becomes a Mermaid • Sirena   The Feejee Mermaid Hoax • The Mermaid   Mermaids and Mo’o of Hawai’i • The Mermaid of Honokawailani Pond                                           • Kalamainuʻu, the Moʻo who Seduced Punaʻaikoaʻe   Water Beings of South America • The Fisherman’s Water-jug and Potato • Oiára, The Water-Maidens • The Pincoya • The Mermaids   African Water Spirits in the Caribbean • Ti Jeanne • Maman Dlo’s Gift   Water Beings of Indigenous North America • The Horned Serpent Runs Away with a Girl who is Rescued by the Thunderer • Of the Woman Who Loved a Serpent That Lived in a Lake • How Two Girls Were Changed into Water-Serpents • Ne Hwas, the Mermaid • Legend of the Fish Women (Mermaids) • The Woman Who Married a Merman

About the Author

Cristina Bacchilega is a professor and the graduate program director in the Department of English at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Her published works include Postmodern Fairy Tales: Gender and Narrative Strategies, Legendary Hawai'i and the Politics of Place: Tradition, Translation, and Tourism, and Fairy Tales Transformed? Twenty-First-Century Adaptations and the Politics of Wonder. Marie Alohalani Brown is an associate professor and the undergraduate chair in the Department of Religion at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Her first book, Facing the Spears of Change: The Life and Legacy of John Papa 'I'i, won the Palapala Po'okela Award for the best book on Hawaiian language, culture, and history.

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