Ingoldsby Legends

The Ingoldsby Legends is a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry written supposedly by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, actually a pen-name of an English clergyman named Richard Harris Barham.

The legends were first printed during 1837 as a regular series in the magazine Bentley's Miscellany and later in New Monthly Magazine. The legends were illustrated by John Leech, George Cruikshank, John Tenniel, and Arthur Rackham. They proved immensely popular and were compiled into books published in 1840, 1842 and 1847 by Richard Bentley. They remained popular during the 19th century but have since become little known. An omnibus edition was published in 1870: The Ingoldsby Legends, or Mirth and Marvels. [Also known: A publication by W.J. Widdleton 1864, New York, The Ingoldsby Legends, or Mirth and Marvels by Thomas Ingoldsby, Esq., The Rev. Richard Harris Barham Globe Edition, Two volumes in one, with Cruikshanks' Illustrations.] A later omnibus edition, printed in 1989 by JM Dent of London contained illustrations by Arthur Rackham.

As a priest of the Chapel Royal, Barham was not troubled with strenuous duties and he had ample time to read and compose stories. Although based on real legends and mythology, such as the "hand of glory", they are mostly deliberately humorous parodies or pastiches of medieval folklore and poetry.