The Fairy Spotter's Guide to further reading (and watching!)

To celebrate the arrival of the gorgeous and mesmerising The Fairy Spotter's Guide, we asked its author Elizabeth Dearnley for a list of some of her favourite books and films that have inspired her work on fairytales and horror.

On Tuesday September 15th, we're delighted to be welcoming Elizabeth to the shop alongside illustrator Sarah Coleman for a double bill that will take you on a journey across continents and cultures, as we uncover the origins of extraordinary folk creatures, from mermaids and bigfoot to shapeshifters and spectral hounds.

These are Elizabeth's book recommendations - should you feel tempted to venture further into the enthralling, unpredictable territory of fairytales. - along with some thoughts from Elizabeth:

Angela Carter, 'The Erl-King', in The Bloody Chamber (1978) - deliciously sinister and atmospheric reimagining of this dark fairy figure from German and Scandinavian folklore - I read this at a formative age and it's definitely influenced the way I think about eerie autumnal forests

Sacha Coward, Queer as Folklore (2025) - fantastic tour through the queer history of folklore, with some fascinating discussion of mermaids

Owen Davies and Ceri Houbrook, Folklore: A Journey Through the Past and Present (2025) - written by two of Britain's leading folklorists, this is a wonderful exploration of folklore as a living and ever-evolving tradition

Helen Dunmore, Ingo series (2005-12) - I came to these books as an adult but would have adored them as a child! Following Sapphire and her brother Conor as they discover Ingo, the world of the Mer, these books contain dreamlike descriptions of the Cornish coast alongside an emotionally absorbing family story

Elizabeth Sulis Kim, The Book of Beasts (2026) - a beautifully-written 21st-century bestiary exploring our relationship with animals

Sara Maitland, Gossip from the Forest: The Tangled Roots of our Forests and Fairytales (2012) - enchanting book exploring the relationship between fairy tales and forests

Helen Nde, The Watkins Book of African Folklore (2025) - Helen Nde runs the brilliant Mythological Africans website and community, and this book is an excellent starting point for anyone wanting to explore African folklore in more depth

James Riordan, An Illustrated Treasury of Folk and Fairy Tales (1986) - the book which is mainly responsible for my love of fairy tales. My mother bought a copy of this for herself and I stole it, but hopefully she feels it was worth it

Marina Warner, From the Beast to the Blonde (1994) - a now-classic study which was a key influence on me as a student

And a couple of films:

Rusalochka, dir. Vladimir Bychkov (1976) - dreamlike Soviet-era live action retelling of The Little Mermaid

The Lure, dir. Agnieszka Smoczynska (2015) - this film is absolutely genre-defying - a horror musical set in the 1980s reimagining The Little Mermaid as two carnivorous siren sisters who form a nightclub act