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Fairies and fairy stories have fascinated us for centuries. They have been present in British art and literature certainly from the 1600s, with the earliest mention being dated as the 13th century. But what if, in the early 1900s, the world was fully aware of and accepting of the existence of fairies? What if academics in Oxford and Cambridge studied them as diligently and thoroughly as they studied archaeology or the Classics?
Joining us today is Heather Fawcett, author of the marvellous book Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Fairies, which details a female Edwardian academic researching fairies in a timeline where fairies are a mysterious but influential part of the world. You’re going to want to read this one.
Mentioned in this episode:
- The Elves and the Shoemaker (trad)
- Rumpelstiltskin (trad)
- Tithe by Holly Black
- Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
- Labyrinth (1986)
- BBC’s Sherlock
Heather Fawcett is the Sunday Times and internationally bestselling Canadian author of books for adults, kids, and teens, including Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Even the Darkest Stars, Ember and the Ice Dragons, The Grace of Wild Things, and more.
Her books have been translated into more than ten languages and somehow all include dragons in one form or another. She has a Master’s degree in English Literature and a Bachelor’s in Archaeology. She lives on Vancouver Island.
