After reading Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, I thought it would be fun to create a post about some of the faerie books I mentioned in my review. All three of these books are by Brian Froud, though he also collaborated with Alan Lee on Faeries. All three books are editions published in 1998, one year after I graduated from college. They are all a bit worn out from being moved around, displayed, and read. I find that sometimes the tattered books are our most treasured.
About These Books
- Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book, by Brian Froud: This is a reproduction of the diary of Lady Angelica Cottingham, which features pressed garden fairies. Or rather the psychic images of the fairies, who quickly turned it into a game, where they leapt between the closing pages in an effort to outdo each other to produce the most outrageous poses.
- Good Faeries Bad Faeries, by Brian Froud: As it turns out, faeries aren’t all sweetness and light. In addition to such good faeries as Dream Weavers and Faery Godmothers, Froud introduces us to a host of less well behaved creatures—traditional bad faeries like Morgana le Fay, but also the Soul Shrinker and the Gloominous Doom. The faery kingdom, we find, is as subject to good and evil as the human realm.
- Faeries, by Brian Froud and Alan Lee: First published in 1978, two talented artists explore the world of faeries in myths, legends, and folklore.
About Brian Froud
Brian Froud is an English fantasy illustrator and conceptual designer. He’s most famous for his book Faeries and his conceptual design work on The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Brian is married to Wendy Froud, a puppet-maker and sculptor who also worked on The Dark Crystal. Their son Toby grew up to work with his parents on various creative projects.
Question
Do you have any old books you treasure?