Fairy lore concerns beliefs about elves, dwarfs, gnomes, trolls, mermaids, brownies, pixies, leprechauns, and many other beings found in world folklore. While such beliefs stretch back to antiquity, they also appear throughout contemporary popular culture. Written for students and general readers and extensively illustrated, this book is an introduction to fairy lore from around the world. The first part of the handbook defines and classifies different types of fairies. It provides numerous examples of fairy lore along with excerpts from different traditions, then examines various approaches to the study of fairies. A final chapter looks at the presence of fairy lore in literature, art, film, and popular culture. The handbook closes with a glossary and a bibliography of print and electronic resources for student research.

Just about everyone is familiar with folk and fairy tales. Children learn about them from parents, teachers, and other adults, while researchers study these tales at colleges and universities. At the same time, folk and fairy tales are inseparable from everyday life and popular culture. Movies, music, art, and literature offer imaginative retellings and interpretations of fairy and folk tales. But despite the pervasiveness of this folklore type, most people have only a vague understanding of these tales. This reference is a convenient introduction to folk and fairy tales for students and general readers. Written by a leading authority, this handbook offers a broad examination of folk and fairy tales as a folklore type. It looks at tales from around the world and from diverse cultures. The volume defines and classifies folk and fairy tales and analyzes a number of examples. It studies the varied manifestations of fairy and folk tales in literature and culture and reviews critical and scholarly approaches to this folklore genre. The volume also includes a glossary and extensive list of works for further reading.

Ireland has a rich history of storytelling, with its many tales of heroes, giants, sea-folk, fairies and witchcraft. Here, Arthur Rackham's distinctive artwork, along with illustrations by other artists from the turn of the twentieth century, accompany powerful tales of the early Celts and the later stories of an Ireland of mighty hearths, dreaming of battlefield glory, ancient gods and mystical isles.

Students of folklore and storytellers will find this new guide useful. Ashliman has followed the Aarne-Thompson classification system fairly closely in his geographical classification and his tale type headings. . . . Ashliman's main aim is to `help readers find reliable texts of any given folktale, not only in its best-known version, but also in less familiar variants.' There are cross-references from one tale type to another, a complete listing of Grimm's 200 tales with type classifications as an appendix, and an index of best-known titles and key words from typical plots. Choice A Guide to Folktales in the English Language is designed to assist both the folklore specialist and the general reader in locating the texts of folktales published in collections. Author D.L.Ashliman follows the widely accepted type classification established by folklorists Annti Aarne and Stith Thompson and last revised in 1961, organizing more than 5,000 stories and episodes under some 1,000 basic plots. Each plot is presented in capsule form, followed by the titles and essential bibliographic data of published variants. The result is a comprehensive overview of all major European folktales that will be invaluable for students of folklore, literature, and popular culture.