British Fairy Origins

British Fairy Origins examines how fairy legends developed within British tradition, asking where ideas about these beings came from and how they changed over time. Lewis Spence considers the origins of fairy belief alongside the language used to describe it, including the comparatively late appearance of “fairy” in English and Scottish usage.

The book also reflects on the difficulty of identifying a single source for Britain’s supernatural beings. Different names, traditions and concepts are brought into the discussion, while Spence weighs competing explanations for their presence in folklore. Rather than presenting one settled answer, he records an older stage in the debate about the relationship between fairy belief, British tradition and the wider history of folklore.