Diane Purkiss

At the Bottom of the Garden is a history of fairies from the ancient world to the present. Steeped in folklore and fantasy, it is a rich and diverse account of the part that fairies and fairy stories have played in culture and society. The pretty pastel world of gauzy-winged things who grant wishes and make dreams come true—as brought to you by Disney's fairies flitting across a woodland glade, or Tinkerbell’s magic wand—is predated by a darker, denser world of gorgons, goblins, and gellos; the ancient antecedents of Shakespeare's mischievous Puck or J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. For, as Diane Purkiss explains in this engrossing history, ancient fairies were born of fear: fear of the dark, of death, and of other great rites of passage, birth and sex. To understand the importance of these early fairies to pre-industrial peoples, we need to recover that sense of dread. This book begins with the earliest manifestations of fairies in ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean. The child-killing demons and nymphs of these cultures are the joint ancestors of the medieval fairies of northern Europe, when fairy figures provided a bridge between the secular and the sacred. Fairies abducted babies and virgins, spirited away young men who were seduced by fairy queens and remained suspended in liminal states. Tamed by Shakespeare's view of the spirit world, Victorian fairies fluttered across the theater stage and the pages of children's books to reappear a century later as detergent trade marks and alien abductors. In learning about these often strange and mysterious creatures, we learn something about ourselves—our fears and our desires.

A Dark History of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Nymphs, and Other Troublesome Things

At the Bottom of the Garden

First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Early Modern and Twentieth-century Representations

The Witch in History

Titania and Oberon, Puck and Peaseblossom capture our modern idea of what fairies are or might be. Show me a child who hasn't clapped their hands to keep Tinkerbell's fluttering heart from fading away or watched in delight as Disney's fairies flit across a woodland glade. But this pretty pastel world of gauzy winged things who grant wishes and make dreams come true is predated by a darker, denser world of gorgons, goblins and gellos; the ancient antecedents of Shakespeare's mischievous Puck or J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. For, as Diana Purkiss explains in this engrossing history, ancient fairies were born of fear: fear of the dark, of death, and of the other great rites of passage, birth and sex. To understand the importance of these early fairies to pre-industrial peoples, we need to recover that sense of dread.

A History of Fairies and Fairy Stories

Troublesome Things

From the dangerous beings of ancient myths and medieval folklore, to the sanitized wingy thingies of Shakespeare and the Victorians, and even modern myths of alien abduction, this book presents a history of fairies. It tells that they have a darker and menacing history - as troublemakers, child-snatchers, seducers and changelings.

A History

Fairies and Fairy Stories

In this compelling history of the violent struggle between the monarchy and Parliament that tore apart seventeenth-century England, a rising star among British historians sheds new light on the people who fought and died through those tumultuous years. Drawing on exciting new sources, including letters, memoirs, ballads, plays, illustrations, and even cookbooks, Diane Purkiss creates a rich and nuanced portrait of this turbulent era. The English Civil War's dramatic consequences-rejecting the divine right monarchy in favor of parliamentary rule-continue to influence our lives, and in this colorful narrative, Purkiss vividly brings to life the history that changed the course of Western government.

Papists, Gentlewomen, Soldiers, and Witchfinders in the Birth of Modern Britain

The English Civil War

Step inside The Museum of Witchcraft, an eclectic exploration of witchcraft and magic through 100 objects, practices and symbols. From cauldrons, candles and curses to Tarot, trees and toads, this book is a fascinating tour of the occult, exploring the icons, artifacts and traditions that have stirred fear and fascination for centuries. With magical bespoke illustrations and text written by an expert in witchcraft and the supernatural, The Museum of Witchcraft is a beautifully illustrated almanac of all things esoteric.

The Museum of Witchcraft

‘An absolute gem’ Sunday Times ‘A mouthwatering history’ The Guardian

English Food: A People’s History

This popular history of the English Civil War tells the story of the bloody conflict between Oliver Cromwell and Charles I from the perspectives of those involved.

The English Civil War: A People’s History (Text Only)

Clare Brant

First published in 1992. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Women, Texts and Histories 1575-1760

"From Macbeth to The Wizard of Oz, from the hysteria of witch trials to emblems of 20th-century female empowerment, no matter how she is portrayed, the witch is an enduring source of fear and fascination. In this study, Diane Purkiss investigates the diverse interpretations and meanings attributed to the figure of the witch, encompassing a wide range of cultural norms which include Canonical literature, such as Shelley and Yeats, visual arts, fairy tales, folklore and real-life witch stories. Also considered are pornography and sado-masochism, film, from the classic Swedish Haxan to The Witches of Eastwick, and the stage, including Shakespeare and Jonson."--GoogleBooks.

Carolyne Larrington

A faun carrying an umbrella; a hobbit who lives in a hole; a mysterious name – Lyra; an ill-treated schoolboy with a scar and a secret. Children’s fantasy books often begin with resonant images. However, they also begin in an author’s reading practices. How do children’s authors incorporate myths and legends into their work? And how do myths and legends change as a result? In this richly illustrated collection of essays a team of academic experts trace the magical tales from Norse myth, Arthurian legend and medieval literature which have inspired the finest writers for children, including C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Alan Garner. Drawing on collections of manuscripts and rare books in the Bodleian Library, additional chapters put the spotlight on spell books, grimoires and books that do magic, as well as exploring stunning examples of pop-up books, harlequinades and concertina panoramas from the Opie Collection of Children’s Literature.Other writers under discussion include children’s authors of the Victorian era, such as George MacDonald, Rudyard Kipling and E. Nesbit, and twentieth-century writers Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones and Philip Pullman. Through wide-ranging analysis these essays show how literature and tales from the Middle Ages and earlier still have been reinterpreted for each generation and continue to have a profound impact on writers of fantasy books for children today.

Myth, Legend and Enchantment in Children's Books

Magical Tales

Clearly intended for private production, these three tragedies are able to address contentious political issues - such as the nature of the good ruler and resistance to unjust authority - which were seldom permitted on the public stage.

Three Tragedies by Renaissance Women

'Diane Purkiss ... insists on taking witches seriously. Her refusal to write witch-believers off as unenlightened has produced some richly intelligent meditations on their -- and our -- world.' - The Observer 'An invigorating and challenging book ... sets many hares running.' - The Times Higher Education Supplement

Early Modern and Twentieth-Century Representations

The Seventeenth-century Woman Debate

Material Girls

Naomi J. Miller

Building on recent critical work, this volume offers a comprehensive consideration of the nature and forms of medieval and early modern childhoods, viewed through literary cultures. Its five groups of thematic essays range across a spectrum of disciplines, periods, and locations, from cultural anthropology and folklore to performance studies and the history of science, and from Anglo-Saxon burial sites to colonial America. Contributors include several renowned writers for children. The opening group of essays, Educating Children, explores what is perhaps the most powerful social engine for the shaping of a child. Performing Childhood addresses children at work and the role of play in the development of social imitation and learning. Literatures of Childhood examines texts written for children that reveal alternative conceptions of parent/child relations. In Legacies of Childhood, expressions of grief at the loss of a child offer a window into the family’s conceptions and values. Finally, Fictionalizing Literary Cultures for Children considers the real, material child versus the fantasy of the child as a subject.

Literary Cultures and Medieval and Early Modern Childhoods

Diane Purkiss analyses representations of masculinity in the writings of Milton, Marvell, Waller and Herrick.

Literature, Gender and Politics During the English Civil War

Drawing on exciting new sources, including letters, memoirs, ballads, plays, illustrations, and even cookbooks, Purkiss creates a rich and nuanced portrait of the turbulent era of the English Civil War which rejected divine right monarchy in favor of parliamentary rule.

Diane Purkiss

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