About the Author

Carole G. Silver is Professor of English and holds the Humanities Chair at Yeshiva University (Stern College). She is also Adjunct Professor of English at New York University. Among her publications are The Romance of William Morris and The Earthly Paradise: Arts and Crafts by William Morris.

Reviews

"A fascinating and beautifully written book. Victorianists who think they have no interest in the subject should think again. Silver finds fairies in every imaginable aspect of nineteenth-century British life. Scholars of Victorian anthropology and sociology; biology; genealogy; medical, legal, and women's history; imperialism; Darwinism; photography; art; and literature will all benefit from this marvelous book.... In her passionate, jargon-free prose Silver
reminds us that literature always has been and literary criticism can be a sheer delight to read."--Journal of English and Germanic Philology
"While Silver presents a mainly academic approach, it is highly readable and fascinating material to anyone who loves this literary period."--Michigan Alumnus Magazine
"Carol G. Silver does much to remedy the dearth of historical analysis in this rich field.... Silver's book is a significant contribution to this fascinating hallmark of the Victorian era."--Victorian Review [Canada]
"[A] fascinating account...Silver, a literature professor, provides a generally valuable service in integrating anthropological, linguistic, and folkloric materials into her discussion of Victorian conceptions of alternative worlds of existence. Recommended especially for Victorian specialists and sophisticated readers of fairy tales."--Choice
"This is an entertaining and informative study of Victorian culture....Provides some of the most original reading on the subject we have."--The New York Times Book Review
"Highly accessible....This is essential for academic libraries, and highly recommended for public libraries as well."--Library Journal
"This is a masterful examination of [the nineteenth] century's burgeoning interest in the folklore of fairies, and an interpretation of this folklore in cultural and political terms.... This is a long overdue study, especially significant to anyone interested in the full range of Victorian culture from its scientific and pseudoscientific extensions of Darwinism, ethnography, and genetics to its focus on the occult 'sciences'--theosophy, spiritualism, and so
on."--Marvels & Tales: Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies
"[Features] the choicest discoveries...Silver has culled from her vast reading in fairy lore and the Victorian folklorists....Handsomely illustrated."--Studies in English Literature
"While Silver presents a mainly academic approach, it is highly readable and fascinating material to anyone who loves this literary period."--Michigan Alumnus Magazine
"[A] fascinating account...Silver, a literature professor, provides a generally valuable service in integrating anthropological, linguistic, and folkloric materials into her discussion of Victorian conceptions of alternative worlds of existence. Recommended especially for Victorian specialists and sophisticated readers of fairy tales."--Choice
"This is an entertaining and informative study of Victorian culture....Provides some of the most original reading on the subject we have."--The New York Times Book Review
"Highly accessible....This is essential for academic libraries, and highly recommended for public libraries as well."--Library Journal
"[Features] the choicest discoveries...Silver has culled from her vast reading in fairy lore and the Victorian folklorists....Handsomely illustrated."--Studies in English Literature
"An interesting subject, a strong array of primary sources from several disciplines, approachable organization... [Readers] will close this volume enlightened and engaged."--Modern Philology
"A fascinating and beautifully written book. Victorianists who think they have no interest in the subject should think again. Silver finds fairies in every imaginable aspect of nineteenth-century British life. Scholars of Victorian anthropology and sociology; biology; genealogy; medical, legal, and women's history; imperialism; Darwinism; photography; art; and literature will all benefit from this marvelous book.... In her passionate, jargon-free prose Silver
reminds us that literature always has been and literary criticism can be a sheer delight to read."--Journal of English and Germanic Philology
"Silver unearths all manner of interesting examples of folklore, fiction, and supposed fact to illustrate aspects of this particular Victorian fascination. Her discussion of the feedback loop between folklore and the emerging sciences of the nineteenth century is particularly intriguing, and adds an element seldom covered in other analyses of fairy lore and belief.... Lucidly written and accessible to the general reader."--Mythprint
"This is a masterful examination of [the nineteenth] century's burgeoning interest in the folklore of fairies, and an interpretation of this folklore in cultural and political terms.... This is a long overdue study, especially significant to anyone interested in the full range of Victorian culture from its scientific and pseudoscientific extensions of Darwinism, ethnography, and genetics to its focus on the occult 'sciences'--theosophy, spiritualism, and so
on."--Marvels & Tales: Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies
"Carol G. Silver does much to remedy the dearth of historical analysis in this rich field.... Silver's book is a significant contribution to this fascinating hallmark of the Victorian era."--Victorian Review [Canada]
"Silver's superb study of the Victorian fascination with fairylore and folklore reveals how pervasive and significant the belief in fairies was and still may be in British culture. Silver traces the evolution of fairy images throughout the nineteenth century and convincingly demonstrates how they provide important commentary on changing tastes and attitudes of the British, who took the fairies very seriously. Her book is filled with fascinating case studies of
changelings, fairy brides, goblins, and banshei, transformed into representative figures of Victorian beliefs in discourses about utilitarianism, race, gender, and industrialism. Not only does she deal
with the intertextuality of fairylore in society and literature, but she also discusses painting, music, ballet, theater, and folklore. This book is required reading--and delightful reading--for anyone interested in the 'secret people' who captivated the Victorians throughout the nineteenth century."--Jack Zipes, University of Minnesota
"Strange and Secret Peoples is concerned not with eminent Victorians, but with the 'little people'--fairies, elves, mermaids and the like--in whom those eminent Victorians believed. With cogency, clarity, and learning, Carole Silver maps the intricacies of nineteenth-century faith in fairy lore, a faith perhaps more vital in British life than official, organized religion. [This book] is a scintillating work that will appeal to everyone interested in
nineteenth-century England, in odd gods and folk beliefs, and, of course, to all readers who believe in fairies."--Nina Auerbach, University of Pennsylvania