Fairies fascinate young and old alike. To some they offer tantalizing glimpses of other worlds, to others a subversive counterpoint to human arrogance and weakness. Like no other author, Katharine Briggs throughout her work communicated the thrill and delight of the world of fairies, and in this book she articulated for the first time the history of that world in tradition and literature. From every period and every country, poets and storytellers have described a magical world inhabited by elfin spirits. Capricious and vengeful, or beautiful and generous, they've held us in thrall for generations. And on a summer's morn, as the dew dries softly on the grass, if you kneel and look under a toadstool, well ...

In 1970 Katharine Briggs published in four volumes the vast and authoritative Dictionary of British Folktales and Legends to wide acclaim. This sampler comprises the very best of those tales and legends. Gathered within, readers will find an extravagance of beautiful princesses and stout stable boys, sour-faced witches and kings with hearts of gold. Each tale is a masterpiece of storytelling, from the hilarious 'Three Sillies' to the delightfully macabre 'Sammle's Ghost'.

Fairies fascinate young and old alike. To some they offer tantalizing glimpses of other worlds, to others a subversive counterpoint to human arrogance and weakness. Like no other author, Katharine Briggs throughout her work communicated the thrill and delight of the world of fairies, and in this book she articulated for the first time the history of that world in tradition and literature. From every period and every country, poets and storytellers have described a magical world inhabited by elfin spirits. Capricious and vengeful, or beautiful and generous, they've held us in thrall for generations. And on a summer's morn, as the dew dries softly on the grass, if you kneel and look under a toadstool, well ...

In 1970 Katharine Briggs published in four volumes the vast and authoritative Dictionary of British Folktales and Legends to wide acclaim. This sampler comprises the very best of those tales and legends. Gathered within, readers will find an extravagance of beautiful princesses and stout stable boys, sour-faced witches and kings with hearts of gold. Each tale is a masterpiece of storytelling, from the hilarious 'Three Sillies' to the delightfully macabre 'Sammle's Ghost'.

'When it comes to the world of fairies Katharine Briggs is the greatest authority by many a league, and this is the finest guide ever written.'PHILIP PULLMAN'Katharine Briggs's Dictionary is truly wonderful: vivid, witty, and full of a profound and generous knowledge that will thrill both children and adults. Spectacular.'KATHERINE RUNDELL'Katharine Briggs is an editor of such surpassing knowledge that one suspects that she may have sources among witches, ghosts and fairies.'DIANE PURKISSA new edition of Katharine Briggs's short A-Z of folklore creatures, with beautiful, bespoke illustrations by Fee Greening.Katharine Mary Briggs (1898-1980) was a British folklorist, scholar and author, recognised today as the most important archivist of British folktales. Over the course of her life, she published fourteen books, lectured widely and was president of The Folklore Society. Her books were read and used by contemporaries including J.R.R. Tolkien. To reflect the monumental work Briggs did to collect, catalogue and publish folk stories from Britain and Ireland before the turn of the 21st century, The Folklore Society present an annual award in her honour.This new edition of one of Briggs' seminal works is a short dictionary of folklore creatures and tales, illustrated in rich detail with beautiful black and white line drawings by artist Fee Greening. From brownies to Shetland selkies, Cornish spriggans to Nuckelavee (the most horrid of monsters in all of Britain) Briggs's Dictionary of Fairies is a treasury of stories, songs and creatures passed down from one generation to the next.'Katharine Briggs is the surest guide to British folklore in the twentieth century.'JACK ZIPES'Katharine Briggs is the magic mirror on the wall. Ask her what you will...'RICHARD ADAMS****This book is a new unabridged edition of Abbey Lubbers, Banshees and Boggarts: A Who's Who of Fairies, originally published in 1979.

'When it comes to the world of fairies Katharine Briggs is the greatest authority by many a league, and this is the finest guide ever written.'PHILIP PULLMAN'Katharine Briggs's Dictionary is truly wonderful: vivid, witty, and full of a profound and generous knowledge that will thrill both children and adults. Spectacular.'KATHERINE RUNDELL'Katharine Briggs is an editor of such surpassing knowledge that one suspects that she may have sources among witches, ghosts and fairies.'DIANE PURKISSA new edition of Katharine Briggs's short A-Z of folklore creatures, with beautiful, bespoke illustrations by Fee Greening.Katharine Mary Briggs (1898-1980) was a British folklorist, scholar and author, recognised today as the most important archivist of British folktales. Over the course of her life, she published fourteen books, lectured widely and was president of The Folklore Society. Her books were read and used by contemporaries including J.R.R. Tolkien. To reflect the monumental work Briggs did to collect, catalogue and publish folk stories from Britain and Ireland before the turn of the 21st century, The Folklore Society present an annual award in her honour.This new edition of one of Briggs' seminal works is a short dictionary of folklore creatures and tales, illustrated in rich detail with beautiful black and white line drawings by artist Fee Greening. From brownies to Shetland selkies, Cornish spriggans to Nuckelavee (the most horrid of monsters in all of Britain) Briggs's Dictionary of Fairies is a treasury of stories, songs and creatures passed down from one generation to the next.'Katharine Briggs is the surest guide to British folklore in the twentieth century.'JACK ZIPES'Katharine Briggs is the magic mirror on the wall. Ask her what you will...'RICHARD ADAMS****This book is a new unabridged edition of Abbey Lubbers, Banshees and Boggarts: A Who's Who of Fairies, originally published in 1979.

'When it comes to the world of fairies Katharine Briggs is the greatest authority by many a league, and this is the finest guide ever written.'PHILIP PULLMAN'Katharine Briggs's Dictionary is truly wonderful: vivid, witty, and full of a profound and generous knowledge that will thrill both children and adults. Spectacular.'KATHERINE RUNDELL'Katharine Briggs is an editor of such surpassing knowledge that one suspects that she may have sources among witches, ghosts and fairies.'DIANE PURKISSA new edition of Katharine Briggs's book of folklore creatures, with beautiful, bespoke illustrations by Fee Greening.Katharine Mary Briggs (1898-1980) was a British folklorist, scholar and author, recognised today as the most important archivist of British folktales. Over the course of her life, she published fourteen books, lectured widely and was president of The Folklore Society. Her books were read and used by contemporaries including J.R.R. Tolkien. To reflect the monumental work Briggs did to collect, catalogue and publish folk stories from Britain and Ireland before the turn of the 21st century, The Folklore Society present an annual award in her honour.This new edition of one of Briggs' seminal works is an exquisite encyclopedia of folklore creatures and tales, illustrated in rich detail withdrawings by artist Fee Greening. From brownies to Shetland selkies, Cornish spriggans to Nuckelavee (the most horrid of monsters in all of Britain) Briggs's Book of Fairies is a treasury of stories, songs and creatures passed down from one generation to the next.Contents include:- Fairy animals- Good fairies & the seelie court- Wicked fairies &the unseelie court- Ghosts & spirits- People of the sea'Katharine Briggs is the surest guide to British folklore in the twentieth century.'JACK ZIPES'Katharine Briggs is the magic mirror on the wall. Ask her what you will...'RICHARD ADAMS****This book is a new edition of Abbey Lubbers, Banshees and Boggarts: A Who's Who of Fairies, originally published in 1979.

Fairies fascinate young and old alike. To some they offer tantalizing glimpses of other worlds, to others a subversive counterpoint to human arrogance and weakness. Like no other author, Katharine Briggs throughout her work communicated the thrill and delight of the world of fairies, and in this book she articulated for the first time the history of that world in tradition and literature. From every period and every country, poets and storytellers have described a magical world inhabited by elfin spirits. Capricious and vengeful, or beautiful and generous, they've held us in thrall for generations. And on a summer's morn, as the dew dries softly on the grass, if you kneel and look under a toadstool, well ...

In 1970 Katharine Briggs published in four volumes the vast and authoritative Dictionary of British Folktales and Legends to wide acclaim. This sampler comprises the very best of those tales and legends. Gathered within, readers will find an extravagance of beautiful princesses and stout stable boys, sour-faced witches and kings with hearts of gold. Each tale is a masterpiece of storytelling, from the hilarious 'Three Sillies' to the delightfully macabre 'Sammle's Ghost'.

Fairies fascinate young and old alike. To some they offer tantalizing glimpses of other worlds, to others a subversive counterpoint to human arrogance and weakness. Like no other author, Katharine Briggs throughout her work communicated the thrill and delight of the world of fairies, and in this book she articulated for the first time the history of that world in tradition and literature. From every period and every country, poets and storytellers have described a magical world inhabited by elfin spirits. Capricious and vengeful, or beautiful and generous, they've held us in thrall for generations. And on a summer's morn, as the dew dries softly on the grass, if you kneel and look under a toadstool, well ...

In 1970 Katharine Briggs published in four volumes the vast and authoritative Dictionary of British Folktales and Legends to wide acclaim. This sampler comprises the very best of those tales and legends. Gathered within, readers will find an extravagance of beautiful princesses and stout stable boys, sour-faced witches and kings with hearts of gold. Each tale is a masterpiece of storytelling, from the hilarious 'Three Sillies' to the delightfully macabre 'Sammle's Ghost'.

'When it comes to the world of fairies Katharine Briggs is the greatest authority by many a league, and this is the finest guide ever written.'PHILIP PULLMAN'Katharine Briggs's Dictionary is truly wonderful: vivid, witty, and full of a profound and generous knowledge that will thrill both children and adults. Spectacular.'KATHERINE RUNDELL'Katharine Briggs is an editor of such surpassing knowledge that one suspects that she may have sources among witches, ghosts and fairies.'DIANE PURKISSA new edition of Katharine Briggs's short A-Z of folklore creatures, with beautiful, bespoke illustrations by Fee Greening.Katharine Mary Briggs (1898-1980) was a British folklorist, scholar and author, recognised today as the most important archivist of British folktales. Over the course of her life, she published fourteen books, lectured widely and was president of The Folklore Society. Her books were read and used by contemporaries including J.R.R. Tolkien. To reflect the monumental work Briggs did to collect, catalogue and publish folk stories from Britain and Ireland before the turn of the 21st century, The Folklore Society present an annual award in her honour.This new edition of one of Briggs' seminal works is a short dictionary of folklore creatures and tales, illustrated in rich detail with beautiful black and white line drawings by artist Fee Greening. From brownies to Shetland selkies, Cornish spriggans to Nuckelavee (the most horrid of monsters in all of Britain) Briggs's Dictionary of Fairies is a treasury of stories, songs and creatures passed down from one generation to the next.'Katharine Briggs is the surest guide to British folklore in the twentieth century.'JACK ZIPES'Katharine Briggs is the magic mirror on the wall. Ask her what you will...'RICHARD ADAMS****This book is a new unabridged edition of Abbey Lubbers, Banshees and Boggarts: A Who's Who of Fairies, originally published in 1979.

'When it comes to the world of fairies Katharine Briggs is the greatest authority by many a league, and this is the finest guide ever written.'PHILIP PULLMAN'Katharine Briggs's Dictionary is truly wonderful: vivid, witty, and full of a profound and generous knowledge that will thrill both children and adults. Spectacular.'KATHERINE RUNDELL'Katharine Briggs is an editor of such surpassing knowledge that one suspects that she may have sources among witches, ghosts and fairies.'DIANE PURKISSA new edition of Katharine Briggs's short A-Z of folklore creatures, with beautiful, bespoke illustrations by Fee Greening.Katharine Mary Briggs (1898-1980) was a British folklorist, scholar and author, recognised today as the most important archivist of British folktales. Over the course of her life, she published fourteen books, lectured widely and was president of The Folklore Society. Her books were read and used by contemporaries including J.R.R. Tolkien. To reflect the monumental work Briggs did to collect, catalogue and publish folk stories from Britain and Ireland before the turn of the 21st century, The Folklore Society present an annual award in her honour.This new edition of one of Briggs' seminal works is a short dictionary of folklore creatures and tales, illustrated in rich detail with beautiful black and white line drawings by artist Fee Greening. From brownies to Shetland selkies, Cornish spriggans to Nuckelavee (the most horrid of monsters in all of Britain) Briggs's Dictionary of Fairies is a treasury of stories, songs and creatures passed down from one generation to the next.'Katharine Briggs is the surest guide to British folklore in the twentieth century.'JACK ZIPES'Katharine Briggs is the magic mirror on the wall. Ask her what you will...'RICHARD ADAMS****This book is a new unabridged edition of Abbey Lubbers, Banshees and Boggarts: A Who's Who of Fairies, originally published in 1979.

'When it comes to the world of fairies Katharine Briggs is the greatest authority by many a league, and this is the finest guide ever written.'PHILIP PULLMAN'Katharine Briggs's Dictionary is truly wonderful: vivid, witty, and full of a profound and generous knowledge that will thrill both children and adults. Spectacular.'KATHERINE RUNDELL'Katharine Briggs is an editor of such surpassing knowledge that one suspects that she may have sources among witches, ghosts and fairies.'DIANE PURKISSA new edition of Katharine Briggs's book of folklore creatures, with beautiful, bespoke illustrations by Fee Greening.Katharine Mary Briggs (1898-1980) was a British folklorist, scholar and author, recognised today as the most important archivist of British folktales. Over the course of her life, she published fourteen books, lectured widely and was president of The Folklore Society. Her books were read and used by contemporaries including J.R.R. Tolkien. To reflect the monumental work Briggs did to collect, catalogue and publish folk stories from Britain and Ireland before the turn of the 21st century, The Folklore Society present an annual award in her honour.This new edition of one of Briggs' seminal works is an exquisite encyclopedia of folklore creatures and tales, illustrated in rich detail withdrawings by artist Fee Greening. From brownies to Shetland selkies, Cornish spriggans to Nuckelavee (the most horrid of monsters in all of Britain) Briggs's Book of Fairies is a treasury of stories, songs and creatures passed down from one generation to the next.Contents include:- Fairy animals- Good fairies & the seelie court- Wicked fairies &the unseelie court- Ghosts & spirits- People of the sea'Katharine Briggs is the surest guide to British folklore in the twentieth century.'JACK ZIPES'Katharine Briggs is the magic mirror on the wall. Ask her what you will...'RICHARD ADAMS****This book is a new edition of Abbey Lubbers, Banshees and Boggarts: A Who's Who of Fairies, originally published in 1979.