Fians, Fairies and Picts (1893, first edition)

Folklorist David MacRitchie's euhemerist study of Scottish folklore

Author

Publisher

Printing Details

First edition. Hardback, bound in the original green cloth. Gilt titling to spine. 23 × 14.5cm, 77pp, with 21 b&w plates.

A book that blends Scottish folklore with historical detail, in which the author proposes that stories of fairies originated with an aboriginal race that occupied the British Isles before Celts and other groups arrived. MacRitchie was thought to be the founder of the euhemerist school regarding British fairies (the idea that mythological and folkloric figures have a basis in real people and races). The book is illustrated with examples of their dwellings in the Scottish isles.

Condition

Fair condition only, and very much just a reading copy. The green cloth has taped reinforced to the corners. There is more taping to the frontispiece and front hinge, and the inner binding a little weakened in places. However, it remains readable and is complete.

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