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Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries Hardcover – January 10, 2023

by Heather Fawcett (Author)

4.4 3,010 ratings

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.

“A darkly gorgeous fantasy that sparkles with snow and magic.”—Sangu Mandanna, author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party—or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, muddle Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones—the most elusive of all faeries—lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all—her own heart.

Book 1 of 2

Emily Wilde
Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Del Rey
Publication date

January 10, 2023
Dimensions

5.66 x 1.07 x 8.52 inches
ISBN-10

059350013X
ISBN-13

978-0593500132
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From the Publisher

The start of a cozy and enchanting new fantasy series.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Emily herself is delightful, brilliant but flawed, and often darkly funny. Her frustration with her feckless but charming colleague Wendell Bambleby is the perfect spark, and the romance is light but hits surprisingly hard when it chooses to.”—The New York Times

“A book so vividly, endlessly enchanting . . . It pushed the real world aside in the way of all truly great fantasy novels, and I'm jealous of everyone who gets to read it for the first time.”—Melissa Albert, The New York Times bestselling author of the Hazel Wood series

“Forget dark academia: Give me instead this kind of winter-sunshined, sharp-tongued, and footnoted academia, full of field trips and grumpy romance and malevolent faeries. Emily Wilde is a narrator I won’t forget in a hurry, and this book was an invigorating balm for my heart and mind.”—Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

“A whimsical and enchanting romp that had me quite literally laughing out loud on every page. I enjoyed every word of this gorgeously written fairy tale featuring a grumpy heroine and an utterly charming love interest who constantly surprised me. A new favorite!”—Isabel Ibañez, author of Woven in Moonlight

“Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries charmed me more than any faerie king ever could. Take an imaginative world that perfectly balances the mundane with the fantastical, add the pitch-perfect voice of an intelligent and endearingly unsociable heroine, throw in an indolent yet adorable academic rival with a hidden agenda, and you have the ideal book to curl up with on a chilly winter’s evening. This book is an absolute delight.”—Megan Bannen, author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

“Enchanting in every sense of the word, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is a delight of snow-laden forests and changelings, folklore and faerie kings, meticulous footnotes and academic rivalry and adventure. This book is real magic.”—H. G. Parry, author of The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep

“Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is a charmingly whimsical delight, saturated with faerie magic and the equally wonderful magic of humanity. This is going to be one of my regular rereads. Five dazzling, gladdening stars.”—India Holton, author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

“Fawcett grabs readers’ attention by drawing them into the folklore as well as the surrounding world. A great read for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Erin Morgenstern.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“The full cast of characters, well-developed faerie lore, and pervasive sense of cold add depth to the delightful proceedings, which include scholarship, yes, but also danger and a hint of romance. Emily is an Amelia Peabody in snowshoes, and readers will be utterly charmed.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Full of awe-inspiring shows of power and striking moments of humanity . . . Follow the lights into the woods and dance with the fae under Emily’s careful guidance—just be sure not to get carried away.”—BookPage

About the Author

Heather Fawcett is the author of the middle-grade novels Ember and the Ice Dragons, The Language of Ghosts, and The School Between Winter and Fairyland, as well as the young adult series Even the Darkest Stars. She has a master’s degree in English literature and has worked as an archaeologist, photographer, technical writer, and backstage assistant for a Shakespearean theater festival. She lives on Vancouver Island.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

20th October, 1909

Hrafnsvik, Ljosland

Shadow is not at all happy with me. He lies by the fire while the chill wind rattles the door, tail inert, staring out from beneath that shaggy forelock of his with the sort of accusatory resignation peculiar to dogs, as if to say: Of all the stupid adventures you’ve dragged me on, this will surely be the death of us. I fear I have to agree, though this makes me no less eager to begin my research.

Herein I intend to provide an honest account of my day-to-day activities in the field as I document an enigmatic species of faerie called “Hidden Ones.” This journal serves two purposes: to aid my recollection when it comes time to formally compile my field notes, and to provide a record for those scholars who come after me should I be captured by the Folk. Verba volant, scripta manent. As with previous journals, I will presume a basic understanding of dryadology in the reader, though I will gloss certain references that may be unfamiliar to those new to the field.

I have not had reason to visit Ljosland before, and would be lying if I said my first sighting this morning didn’t temper my enthusiasm. The journey takes five days from London, and the only vessel to get you there is a weekly freighter carrying a great variety of goods and a much smaller variety of passengers. We ventured steadily north, dodging icebergs, whilst I paced the deck to keep my seasickness at bay. I was among the first to sight the snowbound mountains rising out of the sea, the little red-roofed village of Hrafnsvik huddled below them like Red Riding Hood as the wolf loomed behind her.

We inched carefully up to the dock, striking it hard once, for the grey waves were fierce. The gangway was lowered by means of a winch operated by an old man with a cigarette clamped nonchalantly between his teeth—how he kept it lit in that wind was a feat so impressive that hours later I found myself thinking back to the glowing ember darting through the sea spray.

I came to the realization that I was the only one disembarking. The captain set my trunk down upon the frosty dock with a thunk, giving me his usual bemused smile, as if I were a joke he only half understood. My fellow passengers, it seemed, few that there were, were headed for the only city in Ljosland—Loabær, the ship’s next port of call. I would not be visiting Loabær, for one does not find the Folk in cities, but in the remote, forgotten corners of the world.

I could see the cottage I had rented from the harbour, which astonished me. The farmer who owned the land, one Krystjan Egilson, had described it to me in our correspondence—a little stone thing with a roof of vivid green turf just outside the village, perched upon the slope of the mountain near the edge of the forest of Karrðarskogur. It was such stark country—every detail, from the jumble of brightly painted cottages to the vivid greenery of the coast to the glaciers lurking on the peaks, was so sharp and solitary, like embroidered threads, that I suspect I could have counted the ravens in their mountain burrows.

The sailors gave Shadow a wide berth as we made our way up the dock. The old boarhound is blind in one eye and lacks the energy for any exercise beyond an ambling walk, let alone tearing out the throats of ill-mannered sailors, but his appearance belies him; he is an enormous creature, black as pitch with bearish paws and very white teeth. Perhaps I should have left him in the care of my brother back in London, but I could not bear to, particularly as he is given to fits of despondency when I am away.

I managed to drag my trunk up the dock and through the village—few were about, being most likely in their fields or fishing boats, but those few stared at me as only rural villagers at the edge of the known world can stare at a stranger. None of my admirers offered help. Shadow, padding along at my side, glanced at them with mild interest, and only then did they look away.

I have seen communities far more rustic than Hrafnsvik, for my career has taken me across Europe and Russia, to villages large and small and wilderness fair and foul. I am used to humble accommodations and humble folk—I once slept in a farmer’s cheese shed in Andalusia—but I have never been this far north. The wind had tasted snow, and recently; it pulled at my scarf and cloak. It took some time to haul my trunk up the road, but I am nothing if not persevering.

The landscape surrounding the village was given over to fields. These were not the tidy hillsides I was used to, but riddled with lumps, volcanic rock in haphazard garments of moss. And if that wasn’t enough to disorient the eye, the sea kept sending waves of mist over the coastland.

I reached the edge of the village and found the little footpath up to the cottage—the terrain was so steep that the path was a series of switchbacks. The cottage itself rested precariously upon a little alcove in the mountainside. It was only about ten minutes beyond the village, but that was ten minutes of sweaty inclines, and I was panting by the time I reached the door. It was not only unlocked, but contained no lock at all, and when I pushed it open, I found a sheep.

It stared at me a moment, chewing at something, then sauntered off to rejoin its fellows as I politely held the door. Shadow gave a huff but was otherwise unmoved—he’s seen plenty of sheep in our rambles in the countryside around Cambridge, and looks upon them with the gentlemanly disinterest of an aging dog.

Somehow the place felt even colder than the outdoors. It was as simple as I had imagined, with walls of hearteningly solid stone and the smell of something I guessed to be puffin dung, though it could also have been the sheep. A table and chairs, dusty, a little kitchen at the back with a number of pots dangling from the wall, very dusty. By the hearth with its woodstove was an ancient armchair that smelled of must.

I was shivering, in spite of the uphill trunk-dragging, and I realized I had neither wood nor matches to warm that dingy place, and perhaps more alarmingly, that I might not know how to light a fire if I did—I had never done so before. Unfortunately, I happened to glance out the window at that moment and found that it had begun to snow.

It was then, as I stared at the empty hearth, hungry and cold, that I began to wonder if I would die here.

Lest you think me a newcomer to foreign fieldwork, let me assure you this is not the case. I spent a period of months in a part of Provence so rural that the villagers had never seen a camera, studying a river-dwelling species of Folk, les lutins des rivières. And before that there was a lengthy sojourn in the forests of the Apennines with some deer-faced fate and half a year in the Croatian wilderness as an assistant to a professor who spent his career analysing the music of mountain Folk. But in each case, I had known what I was getting into, and had a student or two to take care of logistics.

And there had been no snow.

Ljosland is the most isolated of the Scandinavian countries, an island situated in the wild seas off the Norwegian mainland, its northern coastline brushing the Arctic Circle. I had accounted for the awkwardness of reaching such a place—the long and uncomfortable voyage north—yet I was realizing that I had given little consideration to the difficulties I might face in leaving it if something went wrong, particularly once the sea ice closed in.

A knock upon the door launched me to my feet. But the visitor was already entering without bothering about my permission, stamping his boots with the air of a man entering his own abode after a long day.

“Professor Wilde,” he said, holding out a hand. It was a large hand, for he was a large man, both in height and around the shoulders and midsection. His hair was a shaggy black, his face square with a broken nose that came together in a way that was surprisingly becoming, though in an entirely uninviting way. “Brought your dog, I see. Fine beast.”

“Mr. Egilson?” I said politely, shaking the hand.

“Well, who else would I be?” my host replied. I wasn’t sure if this was meant to be unfriendly or if the baseline of his demeanour was mild hostility. I should mention here that I am terrible at reading people, a failing that has landed me in my fair share of inconveniences. Bambleby would have known exactly what to make of this bear of a man, would probably already have him laughing at some charmingly self-effacing joke.

Bloody Bambleby, I thought. I haven’t much of a sense of humour myself, something I dearly wish I could call upon in such situations.

“Quite a journey you’ve had,” Egilson said, staring at me disconcertingly. “All the way from London. Get seasick?”

“Cambridge, actually. The ship was quite—”

“Villagers stared as you came up the road, I bet? ‘Who’s that little mouse of a thing, coming up the road?’ they were thinking. ‘She can’t be that fancy scholar we’ve been hearing about, come all the way from London. Looks like she’d never survive the journey.’ ”

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Del Rey (January 10, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 059350013X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593500132
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.66 x 1.07 x 8.52 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #9,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #149 in Folklore (Books)
- #280 in Fantasy Action & Adventure
- #494 in Romantic Fantasy (Books)

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Such a fun read!

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2023

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This was such a fun read! I did not know what to expect going into this book; was is YA? Is it romance heavy? Is it written like an textbook at times? I had no idea but I did see amazing reviews so I had to give it a try!

This was such an enjoyable reading experience and it has a cute story to it. This is not a standalone so it does end with more left to come, but the main story in this book is finished for the most part, so there is some closure.

To answer some of my misconceptions from above: this book probably does feels more YA but do not let that stop you from giving it a try. There is a somewhat of a romantic plotline in this book but it is not overwhelming and it is not the main purpose of the story; it more of a side story. But I could see it getting more attention in the following books. And the writing style is supposed to be more journalistic but honestly the book feels like it written just like any other book other than the chapters are dated and sometimes the main character makes a reference to the chapter being an entry in the journal. There are no gaps in the flow of the story but it feels a little too detailed to be a journal—which is fine by me because I can read it like any other story.

To give a brief synopsis, this book follows Emily Wilde who is a professor of the study of faeries. She then travels to I believe, a Scandinavian village, where she is trying to finish her encyclopedia of faeries but she needed additional research. Therefore, she travels to this village to hopefully come in contact with the village’s faeries. Her colleague, Wendell Brambleby ends up joining her and they are a great duo for just how opposite they are from each other.

This story reminds me a little of Holly Black’s Cruel Prince series—not for the romance but for the world. The world is similar in both stories where it is our world but there is a faerie world within our world. Also the faeries are similar to each other to where they are more of the conniving, tricky and manipulative faeries. Emily knows the tricks and past stories of the faeries to where she can hold her own against them. She has the classic tricks of turning clothing inside out and holding a coin to not feel the influence of the faeries.

I love these kind of faerie stories so I really enjoyed this book a lot. I do wish the second book was out now but I anticipate I will be reading the second book when it does! I recommend giving it a try if this sounds interesting to you!

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Sara Machado Silva

Great cosy fantasy

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2023

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This is another great book in the cosy fantasy, low stakes trend.

Emily is a Cambridge professor, working on gathering data about fairies, to compile an encyclopedia on the subject. Her studies brought her to the northern Norway, where she hopes to find evidence on the illusive Hidden Ones.

The story is told through her thorough and extensive journal notes, in a tone aligned with the 1909 setting.

The book is slow paced and it took me a bit to warm up to Emily character, and the writing style. After Wendell enters the story, things start to warm up, and Emily experiences several interesting and magical encounters that made me start enjoying the book.

I appreciate how hard working and dedicated Emily is, and how perfectly her personality is complemented by Wendell’s.
I wish we had more of Wendell’s POV as it should help readers warm their hearts to his character, and fully believe his character ARC. He reminded me a bit of Howl, so I would definitely recommend this book to Howl’s fans.

I loved that the book interspersed Emily adventures with some fair folk stories, showing the parallelism of what was happening with some traditional fair folk lore.

Although I never visited Norway (it’s on my bucket listo though), Heather’s writing made me feel there. I could easily picture the setting and it brought me wonderful memories of Iceland.

This is a book written to slow us down. Recommend for fantasy and cosy fantasy readers, with a cup of a hot beverage of your preference.

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Katrina

Loved everything about this book!

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2023

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This book is sheer perfection.

Emily is an expert in the study of fae (dryodology) and is in the process of drafting an encyclopedia of faeries. She visits Ljosland, a village in Norway, planning to spend several months there to study the elusive species of fae called the Hidden Ones.

Her colleague (and reluctant best friend) Wendell, invites himself along to "help" though he is 80% charm and relaxation and 20% actual help. But that 20% definitely comes in handy when Em takes her research too far and ends up in a predicament with a powerful fae.

I laughed out loud several times. This book is hilarious. Don't get me wrong, it's dark too. There are evil creatures lurking in the woods, a changeling left in place of a stolen boy who tortures his hosts, and a woman returned from the fae who is too hollow to speak. The townspeople have been through a lot and could use Emily's help. Despite her reclusive nature, she discovers that she just may need theirs too. That's right, in addition to fantasy, suspense, and humor, there is character development and sweetness in this book too!

Highly recommend!

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R13

Cosy read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 11, 2023

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It was an enchanting cosy read which takes you to a mystical world, with faeries and magical creatures which are living amongst humans.

It’s written in a form of a journal, which was different but was a nice touch as the whole story is about Emily’s journey and keeping a journal.

I enjoyed the mystery elements, with a sprinkle of romance without it been the main focus. It was such a nice cosy fantasy read.

Thank you for Netgallery for the chance to read.

little bookworm

A delightful read (4.5 stars)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2023

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Cambridge professor, Emily Wilde, is an expert on the study of faeries. Compiling an Encyclopedia on the subject, she sets out to the remote Northern village of Hrafnsvik with the intention of studying the local Fae there, a species hitherto not well researched. Unfortunately, her studies do not get off to the best of starts when she ends up upsetting some of the locals, and when her academic rival, Wendell Bambleby turns up, and instantly has the villagers charmed, this only frustrates her further. However, if she is to learn the secrets of the Hidden Ones, Emily may just need Bambleby's help.

My first read from Heather Fawcett, I was intrigued by the premise of this novel. The story is written in the form of Emily's journal as she goes about her travels and studies, and I have to say I thought the format worked very well. Emily had an acerbic and dry wit to her voice that rendered her observations and thoughts in an entertaining light, and I also liked the touch of having footnotes attached, as they added to the lore and were often amusing in themselves.

I enjoyed the world-building in the story and the amalgamation of historical fiction with fantasy elements. The setting of Hrafnsvik was wonderfully brought to life, and with its snowy landscape this made for a perfect cosy read for a winter evening.

The story is told at a slow pace, and it does take a little while for it to get going. The arrival of Wendell is probably when it truly hits its stride, and after that I have to say I found this a delightful escapist read.

Emily and Wendell have a great chemistry, with a bickering and bantering relationship that is a delight, and their personalities compliment each other perfectly. I also enjoyed the characterization of many of the villagers, as well as some of the different Fae we encounter, though I think the adorable Poe was my favourite.

Emily and Wendell get embroiled in a number of different adventures, and it was lovely to see how Emily in particular began to genuinely care about the villagers and want to help them in their troubles, and the sense of community that prevailed.

I enjoyed learning more about the different types of Fae, be they the common ones or the Courtly Fae, and I liked the addition of fairy-tale stories within the journal. The power of stories is key to the book over all, and the way in which the Fae operate, which again I appreciated.

The book overall has a very adult fairy-tale feel to it. Whilst I would say the overall tone is quite light and warm, there are some darker elements to the book and at times the tone can be quite eerie. The latter part of the book had a slightly more outlandish feel to it as Emily gets trapped in the world of the Fae, and perhaps the ending did feel a bit incomplete, however, as I now know there is a sequel planned, I can forgive that.

Overall, this was an enchanting read with magic and adventure, gentle romance, lots of humour, a gorgeous wintry setting, a touch of the macabre and heaps of charm. I will definitely be reading the sequel.

9 people found this helpful

booksy

Good book let down by a poor ending

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2023

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Review contains spoilers ...

There's a lot to like about this book. The setting is interesting, and it's what I'd describe as whimsical and enchanting. It's also an interesting take on the fae genre - in that it's considered a given that Folk exist, and Emily is an academic who studies them, in much the same way any other wild creature might be studied. Emily herself is quite a buttoned-up, frosty character. The book is pretty much a first-person narrative (told via the device of her journal). After a while, though, Emily began to feel a little flat and one-dimensional. Wendell (her academic colleague) is a more interesting character, as described by Emily. However, the fact that when the obvious is revealed (that Wendell himself is High Fae (an ousted king)) he becomes a little less interesting. Whilst it's a playful departure from the normal tropes, insofar as Wendell isn't aloof, cold, cruel etc. but rather jolly and homely almost, with a teasing sense of humour, he just didn't feel edgy or exciting enough. The romance element was very lacklustre. It's hard to view Emily as a romantic interest - and all the tension and excitement you'd want and expect from their relationship was missing. Basically, they're friends and colleagues. And although Wendell seeks to overcome Emily's aloofness, it's all in good humour. There's even a proposal of marriage before any relationship is formed, far less consummated.

I feel this novel falls between a more traditional fairytale - and, indeed, the book is interspersed with a few short stories in that vein - and what readers are more used to if they read the likes of Holly Black or Sarah J Maas. It didn't feel magical enough to me to be truly enchanting or escapist (in the way Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy is, say), and the world-building wasn't sufficient. However, it also didn't feel as robust or edgy as some of the really detailed fantasy books out there.

As for the ending, that was a big let down. It sort of fell off a cliff by ending with another fairy story, unrelated to the main storyline. Now I don't doubt there's a significance to it, and that may become apparent in the next instalment. But this meant the book neither ended on a cliffhanger that would make champ at the bit to get hold of the next book, nor did it round up the existing story sufficiently in a satisfying way for the reader.

All that being said, I did enjoy this book and it had a lot of plus points too - the relationship with the villagers of Hrafnsvik, Wendell's whimsical charm, Emily's friendship with Poe (would love to see more of him), the hints of bigger intrigues surrounding Wendell. I will definitely read the next book in the series, as I do feel that if some of the things that have been set up here play out well in the next book, then this could turn into a really good series.

7 people found this helpful

al

Received in good condition

Reviewed in Singapore on September 13, 2023

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OK

TrishA

Where hidden worlds meet the real world

Reviewed in Australia on September 22, 2023

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Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is a wonderful story of a scholar interacting with her field of study head on and in more ways than she could have expected. Looking forward to the sequel!

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Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries Hardcover – January 10, 2023

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