Fairies are both fascinating and elusive. This book does not pretend to be comprehensive, nor to reveal any new insights or final truths; rather, it is a gathering of wonderful pictures, accompanied by fairy lore drawn from folk tales, anthropology, poetry, and first hand reports. Fairies consists of five chapters. Four of the chapters are based on the commonest classification of fairies - earth, air, fire, and water. There is a final section on fairies in children"s literature and its illustration, which draws upon The Blue Lantern Library of old children"s books.