Fairies and Fairy Stories: A History

Fairies and Fairy Stories: A History traces changing ideas about fairies from ancient myths and medieval folklore through early modern belief, literature and modern popular culture. Diane Purkiss presents fairy traditions as reports and cultural stories, rather than simply charming tales of winged beings.

The book considers fairies connected with birth, death, desire and fear, including child-snatchers, seducers, changelings and the beings recorded in Scottish witch-trials. It also follows their appearance in literature, from Puck and Shakespeare to Victorian reinvention, before examining fairy photography, the Celtic Revival and modern claims of alien abduction. The result is a cultural history of how fairy stories have reflected changing ideas about danger, belief and human experience.