Folklore, Foreign Politics, and Fairies: the three f's of modern fantasy

Greta Runyan

In an era which popularized the Fairy Romantasy genre, the release of “Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales” on Feb. 11 by Heather Fawcett continues to showcase unique writing techniques. For those who want a cozy book to curl up with in the mid-winter flurries, it reads as a cozy medium paced tale with political intrigue and academic themes. Emily Wilde, an academic studying folktales centered around fairies, also known as a dryadologist at Cambridge, continues to explore and expand her knowledge of the Faerie realm, alongside her fae-fiancé Wendell Bambelby, the newly crowned King of Faerie. After the previous conflicts within Wendell’s royal family, Emily forges ahead, looking to resolve the uncertain rulership within Faerie and collect as much information about fairy politics as possible. The continuation of the footnotes, letters, and other information on fairy kind was engaging and fascinating for those looking to delve into the extra lore of Faerie while reminding us that Emily Wilde is a scientist at heart.

On the other hand, as someone who loves knowing the origins of folklore and what inspires this kind of writing, I was a bit disappointed to see that the footnotes provided weren’t attached to any prior research of established fairy tales outside of the commonly known tales, such as “Rumplestiltskin”. The lighthearted stable romance that persists throughout the series reaches its pinnacle of tension as Emily and Wendell work to establish how to make Faerie a place for fairies and humankind alike. All in all, “Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales” was a fun and satisfying conclusion to the Emily Wilde Trilogy.