It always felt somewhat incomplete; the Fistful of Fairies series here on What Magic is This? Podcast was in need of a revisitation. While the series went in many major and important directions, an overarching History of the supernatural entities which we call fairies just wasn’t there. And so, for the 7th anniversary of the podcast, and with the release of the wonderful book Fairies: A History by Dr. Francis Young, as well as with his help- this oversight shall be addressed and the Fistful shall be completed.
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This episode would not be possible without the help of Dr. Francis Young as well as his amazing new book. Fairies: A History is an excpetional work of scholarship and is a must own not only for people interested in Fairies, but anyone interested in Magic.
Dr. Francis Young holds a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge and is the author of over 15 books, including Magic in Merlin’s Realm as well as The Cambridge Book of Magic. He routinely broadcasts for BBC Radio on history, religion and folklore. His Substack All Old Strange Things is marvellous and I am a supporting subscriber. Francis is fairly active on Twitter and he is a must follow there.
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Show Notes & Book Recommendations
- Seven hundred elves- On the publication of ‘Fairies: A History’ – Dr. Young’s Substack. I shared a quote from the last paragraph
- Magical Folk- A History of Real Fairies, 500ad to the Present edited by Simon Young & Ceri Houlbrook
- Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits by Emma Wilby
- A New Dictionary of Fairies: A 21st Century Exploration of Celtic and Related Western European Fairies by Morgan Daimler
- On the Origin of Fairies: Victorians, Romantics, and Folk Belief by Carole Silver – Excellent essay
- The Fairy Census by Dr. Simon Young
- Why we need to destroy all faeries by Mark Nemglan
- Are Faeries Fairies? Fairy Rules and the Circle Dance by Simon Young
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Previous Episodes in The FISTFUL of FAIRIES series
• An Introduction to Fairies with Jo Hickey-Hall & Simon Young • Fairies & Ireland with David Halpin • Fairies, UFOs & Aliens with Joshua Cutchin • Fairies in Ritual Magic with David Rankine • Fairies, Witchcraft & Magic with Lee Morgan • The Origins of British Fairies with Francis Young
and Finally – I have some pretty excellent Patreon offerings involving Fairies! Join the fun! Experience Fairy • Fairy Kings & Fairy Queens • Gnomes
What Magic is This? 