Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

20th October, 1909

Hrafns­vik, Ljos­land

Shadow is not at all happy with me. He lies by the fire while the chill wind rattles the door, tail inert, staring out from beneath that shaggy forelock of his with the sort of accusatory resignation peculiar to dogs, as if to say: Of all the stupid adventures you ve dragged me on, this will surely be the death of us. I fear I have to agree, though this makes me no less eager to begin my research.

Herein I intend to provide an honest account of my day-­to-­day activities in the field as I document an enigmatic species of faerie called Hidden Ones. This journal serves two purposes: to aid my recollection when it comes time to formally compile my field notes, and to provide a record for those scholars who come after me should I be captured by the Folk. Verba volant, scripta manent. As with previous journals, I will presume a basic understanding of dryadology in the reader, though I will gloss certain references that may be unfamiliar to those new to the field.

I have not had reason to visit Ljos­land before, and would be lying if I said my first sighting this morning didn t temper my enthusiasm. The journey takes five days from London, and the only vessel to get you there is a weekly freighter carrying a great variety of goods and a much smaller variety of passengers. We ventured steadily north, dodging icebergs, whilst I paced the deck to keep my seasickness at bay. I was among the first to sight the snowbound mountains rising out of the sea, the little red-­roofed village of Hrafns­vik huddled below them like Red Riding Hood as the wolf loomed behind her.

We inched carefully up to the dock, striking it hard once, for the grey waves were fierce. The gangway was lowered by means of a winch operated by an old man with a cigarette clamped nonchalantly between his teeth ­how he kept it lit in that wind was a feat so impressive that hours later I found myself thinking back to the glowing ember darting through

Heather Fawcett

An incredibly fun journey through fae lands and dark magic NPR

A heartwarming spin on fantasy lore POPSUGAR

The world-building here is exquisite . . . and the characters are just as textured and richly drawn. This is the kind of forlorn, folkloric fantasy that remembers the old, blood-ribboned source material about sacrifices and stolen children, but adds a modern gloss. Sizzling Hot Books for Cold Winter Days, The New York Times Book Review

Emily herself is delightful, brilliant but flawed, and often darkly funny. Her frustration with her feckless but charming colleague Wendell Bambleby is the perfect spark, and the romance is light but hits surprisingly hard when it chooses to. The New York Times (Editors Choice)

A book so vividly, endlessly enchanting . . . It pushed the real world aside in the way of all truly great fantasy novels, and I'm jealous of everyone who gets to read it for the first time. Melissa Albert, The New York Times bestselling author of the Hazel Wood series

Forget dark academia: Give me instead this kind of winter-sunshined, sharp-tongued, and footnoted academia, full of field trips and grumpy romance and malevolent faeries. Emily Wilde is a narrator I won t forget in a hurry, and this book was an invigorating balm for my heart and mind. Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

A whimsical and enchanting romp that had me quite literally laughing out loud on every page. I enjoyed every word of this gorgeously written fairy tale featuring a grumpy heroine and an utterly charming love interest who constantly surprised me. A new favorite! Isabel Ibañez, author of Woven in Moonlight

Emily Wilde s Encyclopaedia of Faeries charmed me more than any faerie king ever could . . . This book is an absolute delight. Megan Bannen, author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

Enchanting in every sense of the word, Emily Wilde s