British Fairy Origins

Lewis Spence’s British Fairy Origins (1946) is a richly scholarly yet delightfully imaginative exploration of the deep roots of Britain’s fairy lore. In this study, Spence argues that the belief in fairies is far more than rustic superstition—it is a window into humankind’s earliest attempts to understand the unseen world. He contends that the fairy tradition grew out of a primitive cult or faith, expressing ideas about the soul, nature, and the afterlife that predate organized religion. Drawing on decades of research and the work of folklorists like Andrew Lang and James Frazer, Spence traces fairies through their many guises—as ancestral spirits, nature beings, and echoes of ancient deities—while comparing British traditions to those of other cultures. The result is an academic inquiry with a touch of enchantment: a work that treats Faerie not as child’s fancy but as an enduring key to the mythic imagination.