The Book of Faeries: A Guide to the World of Elves, Pixies, Goblins and Other Magic Spirits

by Francis Melville

Here's a charming and inspirational guide to the history and folklore surrounding faeries, and an examination of the meanings that these mythic beings have acquired in many cultures. Tradition defines faeries according to different general categories, which include nature spirits, helpers, tricksters and seducers, and angelic faeries. The author summarizes the long history of faery lore, and explains how we can develop our intuitive powers and perceive the faery realm, which he claims truly exists in the universe. He goes on to describe more than 50 faeries, Nymphs, nature spirits, favored by the ancient Greeks and found in places of natural beauty, Elves, revered in Anglo-Saxon lore as guardians of woods, mountains, and wild places, Jack Frost, a playful spirit of cold regions who nips at children's fingers and toes, Brownies, worker spirits attracted to industrious households, and said to bring luck, Puck, a mischievous sprite made famous by Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream , Leprechauns, the memorable faery pranksters of Irish folklore, Genies, the celebrated wonder workers of Arabian folklore. The author also offers recipes for "faery ointments" said to help us see faeries, rituals to attract beneficial faeries to home or garden, and faery herb lore for healing and making magic charms. More than 130 enchanting, full-color illustrations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Fae, Spirituality, Fairies

128 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2002

Reviews

[Ceallaigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually a fun quick read. Lots of different kinds of fae creatures are featured with all sorts of associated history and stories that I thought were very concisely and interestingly presented from all over the world. It’s a short book so it doesn’t go into a ton of detail but it certainly does a good job for the space it takes. The illustrations and “rituals” didn’t interest me as much but others might enjoy them. Recommended if you just want a quick introductory read about fae creatures.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little book with some lovely illustrations. It was way too Christian-oriented for my tastes. So many fairy creatures are said to have been created from the war when Satan fell from Heaven. I believe Pagan beliefs in fairy creatures pre-date Christianity. I disliked how it seemed as if the point of view is that these creatures are on the wrong side of Good (vs. Evil) in Creation.
It is a diverting read, even so, and it is presented as if all these beings exist.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

The collection of descriptions of the elves, pixies, goblins and faeries themselves was mostly interesting, though I would have preferred more information especially the faeries and wished unicorns and dragons could have been mentioned.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5*

Geweldig boek als je meer wilt weten over al de magische wezens die de elfen helpen. De tekeningen zijn ook mooi geïllustreerd! Top boek! Staat mooi in de boekenkast!

[Michelle Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice book to bring you knowledge about anything, or anyone, fairy-like. If you want to know how to get more in touch with that which we cannot see, this is the book for you.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting folklore depicting the Good Folk. Some I never even heard of (Menehunes, Ekkekko, and Klabotermann for examples). I wish they had talked more about the fantasy history in which they appeared, though. It would have been interesting to talk about the seasonal courts (Seelie and Unseelie), the sidhe, and the particular stories in which they appeared. But as a children's and beginner's fae character book, it held wonderful details.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute book to read. The pages have delightful illustrations and the layout of the text on each page is unconventional but still easy to read. The information is indexed in a way to be fairly easy to find the type of faerie/little people you are interested in. I thoroughly enjoyed my romp through the land of Tir Na N'Og- the land of the ever young!

[Dark-Draco · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet little book to read. The best bit are the beautiful illustrations that accompany the text - there is a lot to look at in each one and some made me smile. A few of the entries were new to me, but overall I didn't learn a huge amount from reading this, but it whiled away a few idle moments!

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty little book of faeries, in all their different forms. Breaks down in to chapters by elementals, good faeries with a few specifically, bad faeries specifically, angelic faeries, and recipes, spellworks.

Colorful and light-hearted.

[Viviana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dont like all the art.. but maybe thats me being snooty..
I like the mermaid section: "..a classic example of male projection, involving a fear of archetypal, elemental femininity." and "There is clearly a reconciliation necessary."

[Neon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with this.

Way too religious for my tastes, with references to God and Satan, etc.

I came to learn about Faeries, not religion.

Learned a little bit, was cute enough, and the art was a lovely touch. It's not made for research, though.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes Karina, I still believe in faeries :)

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

an interesting insight into the faerie world, from djinn to devas.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork. It's even got a little rituals and recipes section in the back :)