The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns & Fairies

One of the most sought after and enigmatic texts about Celtic fairies. Written by a Scottish clergyman, Robert Kirk, in 1691, and not committed to print until the early 19th century, The Secret Commonwealth is an unusually sympathetic account of the denizens of fairyland, and a complex of still mysterious extrasensory phenomena including poltergeists, clairvoyance and doppelgangers. Magic was a part of everyday life for Kirk and his fellow Highlanders, and this remarkable book offers rare glimpses into their enchanted realm. Kirk believed that tales of fairies, witches, and ghosts, as well as stories claiming that many Scots were gifted with second sight, or extrasensory perception, were proof that the stories in the Bible were in fact true and supernatural phenomenon in fact existed. For many years, The Secret Commonwealth was hard to find — available, if at all, only in scholarly editions. Academicians as well as lovers of myths and legends will prize this authoritative but accessible edition.