Hamilton Wright Mabie (1846-1916) was an American essayist, editor, critic, lecturer, and writer for young readers. Long associated with literary culture and popular education, he wrote and edited books intended to bring classic literature, mythology, folklore, and moral imagination to a broad reading public. His work often reflects the late nineteenth-century belief that children and general readers should have access to the great stories of the past in clear, dignified, readable form.In Norse Stories, Mabie retells material from the Eddas with an eye toward literary accessibility rather than scholarly apparatus. His versions introduce readers to Odin, Thor, Loki, Balder, Asgard, the giants, heroic struggle, divine conflict, and the doom-haunted world of northern myth. For readers of classic juvenile literature, mythology retellings, folklore, and public-domain educational books, Mabie remains a useful figure in the transmission of traditional stories to modern English-language readers.