The April Book Club – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Join us on April 16th at 7PM ET to discuss Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries! Yes, we’re finally reading this delightful book about a very practical folklorist (shout out to prior book club pick, Emily Tesh’s Silver in the Wood!) doing fieldwork on actual fairies.
Here’s the description: “Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party—or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people. So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, muddle Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her. But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones—the most elusive of all faeries—lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all—her own heart.”
How could we not love a book where the protagonist is making an encyclopedia of fairies?? ;).
Here are some reviews!
“The world-building here is exquisite . . . and the characters are just as textured and richly drawn. This is the kind of forlorn, folkloric fantasy that remembers the old, blood-ribboned source material about sacrifices and stolen children, but adds a modern gloss.” – The New York Times Book Review
“A darkly gorgeous fantasy that sparkles with snow and magic.” – Sangu Mandanna, author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (another former book club pick!)
“The full cast of characters, well-developed faerie lore, and pervasive sense of cold add depth to the delightful proceedings, which include scholarship, yes, but also danger and a hint of romance.” – Booklist (starred review)
We can’t wait to talk about this one with you all. To join us, make sure you’re on the $7+ tier on our Patreon for April!