In this fish-out-of-water story--the winner of the World Fantasy Award--two Scottish thistle fairies find themselves in Manhattan.

Many of the fairies and spirits mentioned within this book come from regions where information on the fairies isn’t readily available in English elsewhere. A few of these include; Mari-El – In the heart of an ancient forest which was so vast and isolated it allowed the people within to remain the last pagans in Europe. For the people of this land never converted to Islam or Christianity, and so to this day they still value the spirits of the forest. Their woodlands are filled with a dizzying array of spirits, from bathhouse spirits that appear as shooting stars to spirits which always run and move backwards. Brittany – One of the last remaining Celtic kingdoms, where many traditional Celtic ideas survived. Yet despite how popular Celtic beliefs are there isn’t a lot of information or stories on these fairies available in English. Northern Italy and Austria – Wedged high in the mountains the tiny villages that dot this land were often the slowest to change, retaining ideas about the spirit world from a past long forgotten to most of us. Not so long ago there were still some people who would answer the shamans call, sending their soul out at night to join the kindly spirits in a battle against the darkness. Other people's will include, the Komi, Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, German, the Scandinavian Countries, the Selkup, the Yakut, and many many more. Indeed there will be well over a thousand different fairies in this book, most of which you'll likely never have heard of.

An enchanting treasury of fairy lore! Around the corner, behind the bushes, and just out of sight...fairies have spent hundreds of years weaving their way in and out of our homes and gardens to spread their magic. Featuring folklore, mythology, and poetry from around the world, this lovely collection reveals these ethereal spirits' extraordinary powers and the history behind their existence. From the case of the Cottingley fairies in the early twentieth century, whose photographs fooled thousands (including Arthur Conan Doyle), to the mischievous fairies found in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the fascinating stories surrounding these magical sprites are sure to captivate anyone who has ever dreamed of catching one hiding deep within her flowerbed. Whether you're interested in exploring the history and culture or just want to learn more about fairies' powers and trickery, you'll love plunging into the enchanting tales that bring these whimsical creatures to life. Complete with hundreds of lovely illustrations, Fairies reveals the magnificent beauty of these mesmerizing sprites as well as their knack for causing mischief.

A vibrant introduction to Fantasy that explores its uses, processes, traditions, manifestations across media, stakeholders and communities.

Writing and Fantasy brings together essays which restore a sense of the fantastic as a political response to cultural opportunities and pressures. It moves on from two conventional fields of discussion: the psychoanalytic, where phantasies are produced by the emergence of the consciousness, and the social, where fantasies are the production of nineteenth-century individualism. Chapters run from the classical period to the twentieth century, each focusing on a local reading of how fantasy acts as a strategy to contain or exploit specific historical and cultural moments. A wide variety of sites are investigated including the feminization of the wild west, originary and maternal spaces, highwaywomen, financial credit, and the ideal home. Multiple genres containing fantasy are explored, ranging from ghost stories to feminist utopias. Aids to the reader include an introduction summarising recent discussions of fantasy, illustrations dealing with visual fantasies, and an annotated bibliography. The new research presented here will be of great interest to academics and students in literature, history and cultural studies departments who are working in the field of the historical development of concepts of fantasy, cultural opposition, and the imbrication of politics and modes of representation.

Like its companion volume, "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction", this massive reference of 4,000 entries covers all aspects of fantasy, from literature to art.

Featuring scripts for well known classical fantasy stories, as well as more current entries into the genre, Wings of Fancy addresses subgenres such as: Fairies and Enchanted Creatures; Fantastic Beasts and Talking Animals. Each script offers a summary of the story with background information on the author and story, plus suggested further readings. Staging and presentation directions are included, as is a glossary of new and unfamiliar terms. Unlike most other books of this type, lesson plans and project ideas are also included for each story. Grades 4-8 The Readers Theatre series presents original scripts written for the purpose of teaching a specific literary genre. Each book is composed of 24-28 scripts, keyed to published books, plays, poems or stories in that genre, encouraging students to read the originals to accomplish the correlated project. Staging and presentation directions are included. Two-leveled (lower and higher level) projects with all needed lesson plans, forms and discussion are also provided for each script.