The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves & Other Little People

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting
Review: This book explores fairies and other fantastic characters in different folklore like german and english, but also in different times, from Persia to Middle-Age.
It has few black and white illustrations, but the point of this book is not to be pictorical but informative.
It's like taking a tour through different times and cultures viewing the roles fantasy characters have been playing in folklore.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book!
Review: This book was originally published in 1880 and is an excellent history of the shaping of Faerie. It starts with the origin of the term and then documents the development of the ideas and tales of Fairies in many cultures. This book is full of summaries of stories, portions of text in their original language (some of which also appear translated), footnotes to naming conventions, pronunciations, criticisms, etc. I agree with the other reviewer that this book is not for everyone and in many cases is a tough read, but it is well worth it. In short, this would be a great textbook for a class on the history of Faerie.