“I suppose most children fall in love with faeries at some point, but my fascination was never about magic or the granting of wishes. The Folk were of another world, with its own rules and customs–and to a child who always felt ill-suited to her own world, the lure was irresistible.”

Prepare to be utterly enchanted. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett is a superb historical fantasy dashed with charm, whimsy, magic and lightly sprinkled with comedy.

Travel back to the 1900s and meet  Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby, two characters who are not easily forgotten. Emily is a professor of Dryadology—the study of faeries and fae—and so as part of her research she journeys to a remote Scandinavian island to study “the hidden ones”, a mysterious race of faes who have rarely been recorded. This is Emily’s big chance, her Encyclopaedia will be the first of its kind to document faerie lore, it’s guaranteed to propel her career and earn her the respect she deserves. There’s just one problem, when Emily reaches Hrafnsvik her socially awkward ways deter the townsfolk from detailing their encounters with the fae, thus in turn hindering Emily’s research. To make matters more difficult, Wendell Bambleby, a fellow Cambridge scholar and somewhat rival, arrives to join Emily in her expedition and to her annoyance, the villagers instantly take to his charming ways. Yet there is dark magic permeating through Hrafnsvik, disappearances are becoming more frequent and Emily must get to the bottom of it and also finally uncover who Wendell truly is for he is an enigma she has long been meaning to solve.

From the very moment Emily Wilde and her trusty dog Shadow enter the cold and sparsely furnished cottage she is to live in whilst staying in Hrafnsvik, I knew I was going to love her character. You see Emily is booksmart, but her skills for basic survival, i.e. keeping warm, are definitely lacking. I saw a lot of myself in Emily, her preference for books over gatherings and socialising was a trait I immediately related to. She is uncomfortable around displays of emotion or affection, she offends without even knowing how, she finds accepting people’s help or kindness hard. Clearly Emily is adept in the ways of Faeries but the ways of humans elude her. I loved watching Emily grow, seeing the villagers slowly begin to leave a mark on her life and seeing her begin to care for them, even if she couldn’t admit it, felt so warming. I loved how Emily’s meddling ways, all done in the name of science of course, sometimes helped the villager’s dilemma with the fae and sometimes made the situation worse. Fawcett never portrays her as a perfect character, Emily’s flaws are always shown in plain view, and for that I found her all the more adorable.

“I would sooner interview a dozen bloody changelings than navigate my way through this thicket of social conventions. I thought to myself that perhaps I should simply avoid conversation altogether going forward, seeing as I always make a mess of it.”

Throughout Emily’s quirks make her character rather comical, but it is when Wendell Bambleby enters the scene, like a full on whirlwind, where the novel becomes all the more amusing. I wouldn’t say Wendell is exactly Emily’s enemy, in fact they are longtime friends, but they do share a somewhat prickly relationship. Emily believes Wendell wants to gain academic fame based off of her hard work and she is also convinced there is more to Wendell than meets the eye. As for Wendell, well he just wants Emily to relax a little. His relationship with Emily is one filled with jest, banter and some arguing, but underneath you could tell they cared deeply for each other. You cannot help but fall in love with our delicate little Wendell! Even worse than Emily’s survival skills, Wendell is incapable of the most rudimentary of tasks. He does have a weapon up his sleeve though—his attractiveness and charismatic demeanour. Honestly, the way Wendell subtly manipulates the villagers knowing full well he is instantly likable and this in turn makes everyone more than eager to pander to his needs, was priceless. Wendell never failed to make me smile, but as much as he oozed whimsy and flamboyance, Fawcett also showed us there was a darker, more protective side to his character, which came as a great surprise. 

A darkness and almost eerie atmosphere also runs throughout Hrafnsvik, which of course sparked my curiosity. Immediately we see the community acting peculiar, they behave in an overly close-knit manner, guarding their secrets from outsiders. Fawcett injects a sense of claustrophobia and as Emily investigates around the town it becomes apparent something more sinister is bubbling in the background, with all signs leading back to the Fae. Though Poe, a fae who Emily first strikes a bargain with, is a darling in every way, we begin to see the rest of the Folk, the collective term for all fae and faeries, are not adhering to the expected behaviour in which Emily had previously recorded. Instead of terror this ignites Emily’s inquisitive nature, an excitement at new discoveries, an eagerness to flex her academic skills. At first I thought these recordings would be written in a sterile scientific style, but Fawcett writes Emily’s character with such a distinct entertaining voice that I loved exploring the different species of fae and learning their customs and culture. Honestly, every chapter captivated me so intensely I flew through the pages.

“Never in my adult life had I had someone looking out for me. Everything that I have wanted or needed doing, I have done myself.

And why not? I have never needed rescuing before. I suppose I always assumed that if I ever did, I would have two options: rescue myself or perish.”

Fawcett’s prose throughout is so wonderfully detailed, I could vividly picture every scene. In fact the book played out in my mind like an animated movie. Writing an epistolary novel worked superbly to chronicle all the enchanting and often dangerous encounters Emily and Wendell stumbled upon during their expedition, building upon the whimsy and tension. The Encyclopaedia itself feels much like a fairytale unfolding within each entry. This is further elaborated when the people of Hrafnsvik finally began revealing stories about the “hidden ones” and each story included a touch of macabre, a ‘Brother’s Grimm’ vibe. Towards the novel’s conclusion Fawcett also fantastically plays with fairytale tropes such as curses and castles, stolen children, an evil queen, and even a royal wedding. I loved how cleverly she twisted these scenes but still incorporated a dazzling air of magic.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is a spellbinding wintery tale to warm the heart. The perfect read to cure those winter blues.

ARC provided by Nazia at Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the copy! All quotes used are taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries will be released 19th January but you can pre-order your copy HERE