The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries [Paperback]

W. Y. Evans-Wentz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2006

Are fairies real? Folklorists say they are fragments of ancient religious beliefs; occultists call them nature spirits; the peasant tradition says they are fallen angels. Dr. Evans-Wentz, best known for translating The Tibetan Book of the Dead, presents tradition and testimony about an elusive religious order that survives in the natural setting of wild and lonely places. Not satisfied with formal study, he presents first-hand reports of fairies in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany, opening a path to the luminous reality behind the traditions of folklore.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

About the Author:

"Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz was an anthropologist and writer who was a pioneer in the study of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and as a teenager read Madame Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine and became interested in the teachings of Theosophy. He received both his B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University, where he studied with William James and William Butler Yeats. He then studied Celtic mythology and folklore at Jesus College, Oxford (1907); there he adopted the form Evans-Wentz for his name. He travelled extensively, spending time in Mexico, Europe, and the Far East. He spent the years of the First World War in Egypt. He later travelled to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and India, reaching Darjeeling in 1919; there he enountered Tibetan religious texts firsthand.

Evans-Wentz is best known for his series of four books of spiritual works translated from the Tibetan. Evans-Wentz credited himself only as the compiler and editor of these volumes. The actual translation of the texts was performed by Tibetan Buddhists, primarily Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup (1868-1922), a teacher of English at the Maharaja's Boy's School in Gangtok, Sikkim who had also done translations for Alexandra David-Neel and Sir John Woodroffe.

The Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University has hosted The Evans-Wentz Lectureship in Asian Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics since 1969, funded by a bequest from Evans-Wentz." (Quote from wikipedia.org) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 558 pages
• Publisher: Waking Lion Press (July 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600963358
• ISBN-13: 978-1600963353
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,332,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind, July 28, 2001

By 

Kelly (Fantasy Literature) (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries (Library of the Mystic Arts) (Paperback)

This book was written in the early twentieth century, and my opinion is that no faery book has yet been written to equal it. Evans-Wentz was a sophisticated scholar, and yet treated faery beliefs with the utmost of respect, and even devoted a chapter to scientific and psychological findings that render such beliefs valid. Without looking down his nose on anyone (except maybe stuffy fellow scholars who lost their imagination somewhere along the line), he reports stories of faery encounters in every Celtic nation. He interviewed great numbers of Celtic people in his travels, and collected a vast treasure trove of tales. These range from firsthand accounts to "a friend of a friend" legends to stories handed down through the generations.

After presenting a mass of information on the modern faery faith, he goes on to relate the ancient faery beliefs held by the Celts of old, as recorded in their mythology. Many pages are devoted to the adventures of CuChulainn, Arthur, Bran, and other figures who moved in and out of the Otherworld. He also discusses the Otherworld itself, the misty land where the faeries, the gods, and the dead dwelled. Especially stunning is his assertion that the Celts participated in mysteries much like those of Eleusis. The mythological evidence IS THERE, as Evans-Wentz proves. I only wish someone in those days had written something down to indicate whether or not this is true!

This is the best book ever written on the fae, IMHO. It ought to be on every Celtophile's shelf right next to Squire's _Celtic Myth and Legend_. As a matter of fact, the two books make excellent companions for one another.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not much to add, November 18, 2002

By 

S. Roit - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries (Library of the Mystic Arts) (Paperback)

...to what others have said.

There is no book on this subject I have found that equals it.
This is a testament in itself, as this was first published around 1890.

Wentz was an academic, a scholar, yet in early chapters his descriptions of each area of the Isles is breathtaking. It's not dry, it's not stuffy. He spent years collecting encounters, traditions, and beliefs from the most correct source. The people themselves. This contrasts rightfully the tendancy (even more so these days with anything Celtic especially) to project things onto a culture it does not contain. No frilly, watered down, ... little creatures at your beck and call here, which is what other "authors" would have you believe.
For some, the latter chapters of this book will seem a bit dry compared to the first. Regardless of what you think of his theories, they are all intriguing, and well thought out by the author, though I agree he became a bit enchanted himself during the writing. (not a bad thing, IMO, I was enchanted as well) The collection of tales alone is worth the price. I enjoyed every page.

This should be on the shelf of anyone who says they want to learn about Faeries, Celts, and the cultures they came from.
Why read what any old outsider says? Read the words of the people who were born and raised in these cultures. They know themselves better than anyone else, no?

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Basic Book for Your Folklore Shelf, January 6, 2001

By 

Skip Church "SkipChurch" (Lawrenceville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries (Library of the Mystic Arts) (Paperback)

Walter Evans-Wentz set out to write this book as his dissertation, at the dawn of academic anthropology. Along the way, he became more than a little entranced. Still, Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries is one of the best, and most important, scholarly works on the topic, and I strongly recommend it. Don't get sucked into buying a lot of phoney 'fairies-with-wings' junk. The real deal is much more interesting. Stick to Rev. Kirk, Peter Narvaez, K.M. Briggs, Sir John Rhys, and Evans-Wentz, and you'll be on the right track.