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The Great Encyclopedia of Faeries

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The Great Encyclopedia of Faeries
The author, Pierre Dubois, with a copy of the book on the right
AuthorPierre Dubois
Original titleLa Grande Encyclopédie des fées et autres petites créatures
IllustratorClaudine and Roland Sabatier
Cover artistClaudine and Roland Sabatier
LanguageFrench
GenreEncyclopedia
Published1996
PublisherHoëbeke
Publication placeFrance
ISBN2-84230-014-9

La Grande Encyclopédie des fées (full title: La Grande Encyclopédie des fées et autres petites créatures) is the second and best-known of Pierre Dubois's encyclopedic works about little people. Following on from La Grande Encyclopédie des lutins, it is devoted, as its title indicates, to fairies, and contains descriptions of over 100 fairy creatures in the form of stories from folklore, with presentation sheets and illustrations by Claudine and Roland Sabatier [fr].[1][2]

Published in 1996 by Hoëbeke [fr] and selling 80,000 to 90,000 copies in France, La Grande Encyclopédie des fées has been reprinted several times (in hardcover and paperback), and translated into English and Japanese. It was well received by critics, who praised its author's erudition and humor. At the time of its publication, it was the first French-language work on the subject.[1][3][4]

Content

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The cover, illustrated as for the book's interior by Claudine and Roland Sabatier, features dozens of colorful fairies intermingled with one another. The title (La Grande Encyclopédie des fées), its subtitle (et autres petites créatures) and the presentation of the author and publisher (Secrets révélés par Pierre Dubois, illustrée par Claudine et Roland Sabatier et portés à la connaissance du public par Hoëbeke éditeur, rue du Dragon, Paris [Secrets revealed by Pierre Dubois, illustrated by Claudine and Roland Sabatier and published by Hoëbeke, rue du Dragon, Paris]) are a deliberate nod to early scholarly works.[1][3][4]

La Grande Encyclopédie des fées presents a hundred or so fairies from popular folklore from all over the world (mainly France and the British Isles), with a storytelling text and a card summarizing each fairy's activities or favorite food. These presentations are divided into six chapters, each with an often poetic title and a particular theme. The first presents fairies who influence the climate, the second those of the hearth, the third those of Other Worlds, the fourth those of water, the fifth those of vegetation, and the last those of dreams and air.[1][3][4]

Name Pages Name Pages Name Pages
Tempestarii 16-17 Genies and gods of storm, rain, snow, and wind 18-19 Perchta 20-21
The Valkyries Valkyrja 22-23 Frau Holle 24-25 Babushka 26-27
Befana and the Christmas Aunties 28 Chauchevieille [fr] 29 Snegurochka 29
Fraü Gaude [fr] 29 Trottes-Vieilles [fr] 29 Koliada 29
Guillaneu [fr] 29 Aunt Arie [fr] 30-31 Lorialets 32-33
Saint Lucy, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty 34-35 Bogie beasts 38-39 Ole Ferme-l’œil 40-41
La garderie des Bogies 42-43 Les larves 44-45 The dark sisters (Lamashtu, etc.) 46-47
Maja, Meija, Meiga [es] 48-49 Les Gianes 50-51 The Laumės, the daughters of Laumé 52-53
Guivre 54-55 Mélusine 56-57 Codrilles and country dragons 58-59
Teugghia, Fausserolles and other fallen fairies 60-61 Marten, Peïlettes and Trouilles-de-Nouille 62-63 Matagots 64-65
Fairy godmothers 68-69 Banshee 70-71 Spinners and stone maidens 72-73
Night spinners 74-75 Midnight Washerwomen 76-77 Ielles 78-79
White ladies 80-83 Black ladies, red ladies 84-85 Gray Ladies and Ladies of the Well 86-87
blue ladies, fairies of the mountains 88-89 Apsarâ 90-91 Fairy-men and fairy-folk 92-93
Morgens 96-97 Mermaids 98-99 Selkie 100-101
102-103 Nekker 104 Lange Wapper 105
Nāga 106-107 Groac'h 108-109 Vila 110-111
Fenettes, Gwragedd annwn... 112-113 The Swan Maidens 114-115 Nixie, Lorelei 116-117
Arbres-fays 120-121 And others... 122-123 Dryads and hamadryads 124-125
Old ShutEye 126-127 Pillywiggins 128-129 Herbal teas 130-131
Florales 132-133 Green ladies 134-135 Nymphs 136-137
Muses 138-139 White stag 140-141 Margot the fairy 144-145
Enfants de désir 146-147 Streghes 148-149 Cailleac Bheur 150-151
Nang-faa 152-153 Wilis 154-155 Encantada 156-157
Enchanteresses 158-159 Viviane 160-161 Morgan le Fay 162-163
Maeve, Medb, Mab 164-165 Hadas, Xanas, etc. 166-167 Folletto del vento 168-169

Editions

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La Grande Encyclopédie des fées has been reissued several times in French, and the cover illustration has changed between the first and subsequent editions. It has also been available in hardcover and softcover editions since 2008. It is translated into English by the British publisher Pavilion Books, and by Simon & Schuster in the United States. It is also available in Japanese.[5]

Reception

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The book was very well received, with reviewers praising the fieldwork involved in cataloguing fairy information, the attention to detail, and the illustrations.[3]

La Grande Encyclopédie des fées sold 80,000 to 90,000 copies in French.[5]

Ah, if fairies had telephones, they'd be sure to find them in this marvellous phone book - shall we say? In this magical directory, they'd choose to entrust us with the enchanted number to call them in dreamland.

— Review published in the December 1996 issue of Lire magazine[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Pierre Dubois, le rappel de la forêt" [Pierre Dubois, a reminder of the forest] (in French). 2003-10-21. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  2. ^ "DUBOIS Pierre". www.etonnants-voyageurs.com (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  3. ^ a b c d "La grande encyclopédie des fées". L'Express (in French). 1996.
  4. ^ a b c d "La grande encyclopédie des fées". Lire (in French). December 1, 1996.
  5. ^ a b Ely, Richard (2008-08-31). "Pierre Dubois l'elficologue" [Pierre Dubois the elficologist]. Fées, elfes, lutins | Peuple Féerique - Le Petit Monde de Richard Ely (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-19.

Bibliography

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