A01=Sarah Clegg
acotar
Author_Sarah Clegg
Category=DS
Category=JBGB
Category=NHTB
cornish
cottingley fairies
elves
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
fae
fairies
folklore book
forthcoming
francis young
great god pan
hellebore
iceland
ireland fairy mythology
sara j maas
weird walk
Product details
- ISBN 9781803512839
- Dimensions: 138 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 08 Oct 2026
- Publisher: Granta Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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We often think of them as tiny, glittering creatures fluttering about in pastel tulle, but fairies haven't always been so benign. Here, historian Sarah Clegg explores the true history of fairies, and the menace and ambiguity that always lurks within the shimmering fantasy.
This history takes us from elf fires in Iceland to a burial mound in Ireland; and from a stream in Cottingley where two sisters created a fairy hoax to a modern-day fairy ball in Los Angeles. Along the way, Clegg reveals fairies' connection to ancient gods and their role in the witch-trials, and examines their seductive presence in romantasy today. This is a story of how fairy myths grew and spread across Europe, of how they changed and developed, and why we have, for centuries, been so enthralled by the danger and enchantment of the fae.
SARAH CLEGG has a PhD in ancient history from the University of Cambridge. She is the author of Woman's Lore (shortlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown), and The Dead of Winter (A Waterstones BOTM). She is a former bookseller and now works in publishing.
