{"product_id":"the-secret-commonwealth-of-elves-fauns-and-fairies-paperback-1","title":"The Secret Commonwealth: Of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRobert Kirk\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eMarina Warner\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA classic, enchanting document of Scottish folklore about fairies, elves, and other supernatural creatures.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLate in the seventeenth century, Robert Kirk, an Episcopalian minister in the Scottish Highlands, set out to collect his parishioners' many striking stories about elves, fairies, fauns, doppelg ngers, wraiths, and other beings of, in Kirk's words, \"a middle nature betwixt man and angel.\" For Kirk these stories constituted strong evidence for the reality of a supernatural world, existing parallel to ours, which, he passionately believed, demanded exploration as much as the New World across the seas. Kirk defended these views in \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Commonwealth\u003c\/i\u003e, an essay that was left in manuscript when he died in 1692. It is a rare and fascinating work, an extraordinary amalgam of science, religion, and folklore, suffused with the spirit of active curiosity and bemused wonder that fills Robert Burton's \u003ci\u003eAnatomy of Melancholy\u003c\/i\u003e and the works of Sir Thomas Browne. \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Commonwealth\u003c\/i\u003e is not only a remarkable document in the history of ideas but a study of enchantment that enchants in its own right. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cbr\u003eFirst published in 1815 by Sir Walter Scott, then reedited in 1893 by Andrew Lang, with a dedication to Robert Louis Stevenson, \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Commonwealth\u003c\/i\u003e has long been difficult to obtain--available, if at all, only in scholarly editions. This new edition modernizes the spelling and punctuation of Kirk's little book and features a wide-ranging and illuminating introduction by the critic and historian Marina Warner, who brings out the originality of Kirk's contribution and reflects on the ongoing life of fairies in the modern mind.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobert Kirk\u003c\/b\u003e (1641?-1692) was the seventh son of James Kirk, Minister of Aberfoyle. He studied at Edinburgh and St. Andrews, became Minister of Balquhidder in 1664, and succeeded his father at Aberfoyle in 1685. Kirk published the first Gaelic translation of the Psalms and oversaw the preparation of the first romanized version of the Gaelic Bible. \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Commonwealth\u003c\/i\u003e was left in manuscript at the time of his death.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarina Warner\u003c\/b\u003e's studies of religion, mythology, and fairy tales include \u003ci\u003eAlone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFrom the Beast to the Blonde\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eStranger Magic\u003c\/i\u003e (National Book Critics Circle Award for Literary Criticism; Truman Capote Award). A Fellow of the British Academy, Warner is also a professor of English and creative writing at Birkbeck, University of London. In 2015 she was given the Holberg Prize and in 2017 she was elected president of the Royal Society of Literature. Her most recent book is \u003ci\u003eForms of Enchantment: Writings on Art and Artists\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 144\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.5 x 7.9 x 5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 14, 2019\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51770363576608,"sku":"9781681373560","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/60036bddbfe9b4fc7765a6a0dc623513.webp?v=1780370257","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-secret-commonwealth-of-elves-fauns-and-fairies-paperback-1","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}