Katharine Mary Briggs (1898-1980) was a British folklorist, scholar and author, recognised today as the most important archivist of British folktales. Over the course of her life, she published fourteen books, lectured widely and was president of The Folklore Society. Her books were read and used by contemporaries including J.R.R. Tolkien. To reflect the monumental work Briggs did to collect, catalogue and publish folk stories from Britain and Ireland before the turn of the 21st century, The Folklore Society present an annual award in her honour.

This new edition of one of Briggs' seminal works is a short dictionary of folklore creatures and tales, illustrated in rich detail with beautiful black and white line drawings by artist Fee Greening. From brownies to Shetland selkies, Cornish spriggans to Nuckelavee (the most horrid of monsters in all of Britain) Briggs's Dictionary of Fairies is a treasury of stories, songs and creatures passed down from one generation to the next.