In our modern age fairies are diminutive, winged spirits associated with the innocence of childhood, or else the brooding heroes of popular romantasy books. But the fairies of the British Isles have taken many guises. To the early Britons they were fallen angels or relegated pagan gods, denizens of a strange world parallel to our own. In whispered tales, they can be found orchestrating shipwrecks, blinding queens, kidnapping musicians for their secret revels, and luring human lovers into the greenwood with their seductive beauty and beguiling promises.

Their changeability has made them mainstays of the fantasy genre: at once capricious and ethereal, wielding arcane laws to reward and exploit human nature, and dolling out blessings and curses in equal measure. From protective fairy godmothers to uncanny fairy changelings, and from Tam Lin to Tinkerbell, Carolyne Larrington unravels a plethora of fairy tales in this shimmering guide to the fae, accompanied with beautiful illustrations from the British Library collections.