John Kruse – författare

This book offers a series of biographies of some of the most significant and best-known of the faery folk. A lot of faeries are extremely familiar to us, being distinct characters with names and personalities. This Who's Who examines their origins, characters and development, from traditional folklore through to modern literature and the fine arts. In addition, it describes some of the less well-known faery individuals as well as faery beings that are named, but are really types or species.

Dionysos is the Greek god of the grape-harvest and winemaking, of the growth and fertility of vegetation - especially orchards and vineyards - and, lastly, of insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity and theatre. Because of his links to plant growth, he also became associated with death, resurrection and regeneration. He was also known as Bákkhos to the Greeks, a name adopted by the Romans as Bacchus. The focus here is on the links between Dionysos' cult and the perennial human preoccupations of drugs, sex and ecstasy.

The revived cult of Pan recognizes him as the god of fields, groves and wooded glens. This connects him to fertility and the season of spring, with his entourage of fauns and satyrs pursuing and copulating with woodland nymphs.The word panic also ultimately derives from the god's name. He is the eponymous Piper at the Gates of Dawn in The Wind in the Willows. In the late 19th century Pan became an increasingly common figure in literature and art. and there was an astonishing resurgence of interest in the Pan motif. He appears in poetry, in novels and children's books, and is referenced in the name of the character Peter Pan.The conception of Pan has continued to evolve. He is now seen by many as an eco-guardian, a protector of the landscape and natural resources from human depredations. He remains a relevant and vital figure.

This book pulls together everything we know about how things work in Faery. The information is scattered across many narratives, but once it is assembled, we discover we have a detailed picture of their politics and economy. Much of this is entirely independent of human affairs. References from old books and oral traditions as well as the authors personal knowledge combine to make this a comprehensive work.

This book is concerned with the boundaries of faery. We will investigate the very limits of our understanding- and our definitions- of the faery folk. As we shall see, repeatedly- there are aspects of faery existence that still baffle our attempts to interpret and comprehend them, because they fail to adhere to ideas of a fixed nature and predictable behaviours that are encouraged by strict traditional scientific rationalism. Of course, there are aspects of modern physics which accept mutability and subjectivity, so perhaps faery nature isn't so strange after all.

What's more, time and again we shall see the problems of providing permanent labels and classifications. Certain faery types are hard to pin down, and can shift from category to category- sometimes seeming like faeries, but at other times like ghosts, or demons or monsters. This may feel frustrating, but it is part of the wonder of our rich folklore that should be embraced. 

In this book, we will encounter a range of unfamiliar faeries. We shall discover those that act as witches' familiars and that bring dreams and nightmares; we shall explore the strange forms they can adopt, the surprising ways they move from place to place and- even- the odd games they play.  British faerylore will prove to be even more surprising and mysterious than we may ever have supposed.