# The Great Encyclopedia of Faeries

La Grande Encyclopédie des fées (full title: La Grande Encyclopédie des fées et autres petites créatures) is the second and best-known of Pierre Dubois's encyclopedic works about little people. Following on from La Grande Encyclopédie des lutins, it is devoted, as its title indicates, to fairies, and contains descriptions of over 100 fairy creatures in the form of stories from folklore, with presentation sheets and illustrations by Claudine and Roland Sabatier [fr].
Published in 1996 by Hoëbeke [fr] and selling 80,000 to 90,000 copies in France, La Grande Encyclopédie des fées has been reprinted several times (in hardcover and paperback), and translated into English and Japanese. It was well received by critics, who praised its author's erudition and humor. At the time of its publication, it was the first French-language work on the subject.

## Content

The cover, illustrated as for the book's interior by Claudine and Roland Sabatier, features dozens of colorful fairies intermingled with one another. The title (La Grande Encyclopédie des fées), its subtitle (et autres petites créatures) and the presentation of the author and publisher (Secrets révélés par Pierre Dubois, illustrée par Claudine et Roland Sabatier et portés à la connaissance du public par Hoëbeke éditeur, rue du Dragon, Paris [Secrets revealed by Pierre Dubois, illustrated by Claudine and Roland Sabatier and published by Hoëbeke, rue du Dragon, Paris]) are a deliberate nod to early scholarly works.
La Grande Encyclopédie des fées presents a hundred or so fairies from popular folklore from all over the world (mainly France and the British Isles), with a storytelling text and a card summarizing each fairy's activities or favorite food. These presentations are divided into six chapters, each with an often poetic title and a particular theme. The first presents fairies who influence the climate, the second those of the hearth, the third those of Other Worlds, the fourth those of water, the fifth those of vegetation, and the last those of dreams and air.
| Name | Pages | Name | Pages | Name | Pages |
| Tempestarii | 16-17 | Genies and gods of storm, rain, snow, and wind | 18-19 | Perchta | 20-21 |
| The Valkyries Valkyrja | 22-23 | Frau Holle | 24-25 | Babushka | 26-27 |
| Befana and the Christmas Aunties | 28 | Chauchevieille [fr] | 29 | Snegurochka | 29 |
| Fraü Gaude [fr] | 29 | Trottes-Vieilles [fr] | 29 | Koliada | 29 |
| Guillaneu [fr] | 29 | Aunt Arie [fr] | 30-31 | Lorialets | 32-33 |
| Saint Lucy, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty | 34-35 | Bogie beasts | 38-39 | Ole Ferme-l’œil | 40-41 |
| La garderie des Bogies | 42-43 | Les larves | 44-45 | The dark sisters (Lamashtu, etc.) | 46-47 |
| Maja, Meija, Meiga [es] | 48-49 | Les Gianes | 50-51 | The Laumės, the daughters of Laumé | 52-53 |
| Guivre | 54-55 | Mélusine | 56-57 | Codrilles and country dragons | 58-59 |
| Teugghia, Fausserolles and other fallen fairies | 60-61 | Marten, Peïlettes and Trouilles-de-Nouille | 62-63 | Matagots | 64-65 |
| Fairy godmothers | 68-69 | Banshee | 70-71 | Spinners and stone maidens | 72-73 |
| Night spinners | 74-75 | Midnight Washerwomen | 76-77 | Ielles | 78-79 |
| White ladies | 80-83 | Black ladies, red ladies | 84-85 | Gray Ladies and Ladies of the Well | 86-87 |
| blue ladies, fairies of the mountains | 88-89 | Apsarâ | 90-91 | Fairy-men and fairy-folk | 92-93 |
| Morgens | 96-97 | Mermaids | 98-99 | Selkie | 100-101 |
| | 102-103 | Nekker | 104 | Lange Wapper | 105 |
| Nāga | 106-107 | Groac'h | 108-109 | Vila | 110-111 |
| Fenettes, Gwragedd annwn... | 112-113 | The Swan Maidens | 114-115 | Nixie, Lorelei | 116-117 |
| Arbres-fays | 120-121 | And others... | 122-123 | Dryads and hamadryads | 124-125 |
| Old ShutEye | 126-127 | Pillywiggins | 128-129 | Herbal teas | 130-131 |
| Florales | 132-133 | Green ladies | 134-135 | Nymphs | 136-137 |
| Muses | 138-139 | White stag | 140-141 | Margot the fairy | 144-145 |
| Enfants de désir | 146-147 | Streghes | 148-149 | Cailleac Bheur | 150-151 |
| Nang-faa | 152-153 | Wilis | 154-155 | Encantada | 156-157 |
| Enchanteresses | 158-159 | Viviane | 160-161 | Morgan le Fay | 162-163 |
| Maeve, Medb, Mab | 164-165 | Hadas, Xanas, etc. | 166-167 | Folletto del vento | 168-169 |

## Editions

La Grande Encyclopédie des fées has been reissued several times in French, and the cover illustration has changed between the first and subsequent editions. It has also been available in hardcover and softcover editions since 2008. It is translated into English by the British publisher Pavilion Books, and by Simon & Schuster in the United States. It is also available in Japanese.

## Reception

The book was very well received, with reviewers praising the fieldwork involved in cataloguing fairy information, the attention to detail, and the illustrations.
La Grande Encyclopédie des fées sold 80,000 to 90,000 copies in French.
   Ah, if fairies had telephones, they'd be sure to find them in this marvellous phone book - shall we say? In this magical directory, they'd choose to entrust us with the enchanted number to call them in dreamland.