The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves & Other Little People [Hardcover]

Thomas Keightley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2000

A fascinating compendium of folklore, superstitions, and mythology surrounding the 'little people', including discussions of fairy tradition as it appears in great works of English literature.

Editorial Reviews

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A fascinating compendium of folklore, superstitions, and mythology surrounding the 'little people', including discussions of fairy tradition as it appears in great works of English literature.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Gramercy; 1st edition (September 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517263130
• ISBN-13: 978-0517263136
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #698,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book!, January 23, 2003

By 

Shawn S. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves & Other Little People (Hardcover)

This book was originally published in 1880 and is an excellent history of the shaping of Faerie. It starts with the origin of the term and then documents the development of the ideas and tales of Fairies in many cultures. This book is full of summaries of stories, portions of text in their original language (some of which also appear translated), footnotes to naming conventions, pronunciations, criticisms, etc. I agree with the other reviewer that this book is not for everyone and in many cases is a tough read, but it is well worth it. In short, this would be a great textbook for a class on the history of Faerie.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting, January 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves & Other Little People (Hardcover)

This book explores fairies and other fantastic characters in different folklore like german and english, but also in different times, from Persia to Middle-Age.
It has few black and white illustrations, but the point of this book is not to be pictorical but informative.
It's like taking a tour through different times and cultures viewing the roles fantasy characters have been playing in folklore.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mythic tales, May 23, 2005

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves & Other Little People (Hardcover)

It's a credit to Thomas Keightley's "World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves & Other Little People" that it's still a relevant mythologic source today, over a hundred years after it was first published. The stories, explanations and legends are still as informative as they were in 1880, although they are rather restricted.

Okay, "World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves and Other Little People" sounds like a cutesy title for a Brian Froud-illustrated book. And it's a rather lightweight title for a book with genuine merit -- especially the "little people" part of it, since the elves, fey and gnomes in here are anything but dainty Victorian fairies.

Instead, Keightley focuses on traditional goblins, dwarves and elves -- Scandinavian trolls and beautiful alfar, Germanic Zwerge and kobolds, British fairies, Celtic spirits and seal-men, and the epic sagas that greatly influenced early fantasy authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and George MacDonald. Take a look at the chapter on the "Eddas and Sagas," and it's hard not to think of Middle Earth.

Its one flaw is that it's restricted mostly to Europe -- there's a brief chapter on African superstitions, and one for Judaistic ones. Other than that, nothing that originates outside Europe. While it's understandable, considering the time that Keightley lived in, it's hard not to wonder if he couldn't have found out at least a few other cultural legends.

However, this is a rich source for European myths and legends, especially since Keightley obviously did his research. He includes snippets of untranslated poetry, ballads, and footnotes detailing migratory myths and differing versions. He also summarizes some of the denser material like the two Eddas, which are extremely long and sometimes difficult.

Though Thomas Keightley wrote this a hundred and twenty-five years ago, "The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves and Other Little People" is still a valuable and informative resource for anyone interested in European myths and legends. So ignore the title.