The Fairies in Tradition and Literature

The Fairies in Tradition and Literature surveys how fairy belief developed through tradition, folklore and writing. Katharine Briggs considers the different peoples and beings associated with fairy lore, including tutelary spirits, nature spirits, hobgoblins, giants, fairy beasts and fairy plants, while also noting regional variations in their character and customs.

The book then examines reported dealings between humans and fairies, including changelings, midwives, fairy wives, fairy lovers and strange encounters. Its literary section follows fairy representations through 18th-century and 19th-century poetry, before considering folklorists, collectors, moralists and humorists. Briggs presents these traditions as changing bodies of belief and storytelling rather than as a single, fixed idea of fairyland.