Welcome to the magical world of Faery! This book takes readers along on the journeys of the Reverend Robert Kirk, a seventeenth-century vicar of the parish of Aberfoyle, Scotland, into the heart of the faery world.

A 17th-century fantasy adventure into the world of faeries--and a mysterious true disappearance.

"The Secret Commonwealth is a guide to fairies, doppelgängers, wraiths, and other beings that its author Robert Kirk, an unusually inquisitive seventeenth-century Scottish minister, identifies as being ?of a middle nature betwixt man and angel.? Circulated in manuscript by its author, whose religious and scientific interests drew him at some genuine personal risk to investigate the hidden realities of the spiritual world, this short work was first published by Sir Walter Scott and then again in the late nineteenth century in an edition prepared by the famous collector of fairy tales, Andrew Lang, and dedicated to Robert Louis Stevenson. Nonetheless, Kirk’s work, which is a fine example of English prose, an important document in the history of ideas, and an enchanting introduction to fairy lore has remained a rarity"--Publisher description.

When professional photographer Laura Walthers captured a photograph of an "enchanted tree" on one of her nature walks, it revealed dozens of images of REAL faeries, gnomes and elves. It was as if the photo was alive! And when they began to communicate with her, her life changed forever! Laura Walthers' groundbreaking series of over 100 pictures of REAL members of the Elemental kingdom will change your world as much as it did Laura's! She was asked to assist humanity in awakening to an understanding of the energies and the consciousness that is NATURE! Walk with Laura through the doorway of reality that reveals the role and sacred purpose of these beings! Read the stories of her adventures and the teachings that are available to us all if we are willing to open our hearts and minds! Discover their only personal request they make in return for their lives of service to us and the planet! You will see how these beings work with the consciousness of our planet to create the beauty and abundance that is Nature. You will begin to understand how these beings work to simplify the complex relationship between humanity and nature. At the same time through Laura's photos, you can learn how to open your own personal life to experience the wisdom and joy they so willingly share with us in support of the healing of the planet! Experience their unique personalities through Laura's images as you hear the stories of the playful ways they work to bring joy and balance into our daily lives. Laura's work of art gives form and substance to a reality many of us knew existed when we were children. After experiencing Life In Nature Revealed, your life will never again be the same!

A classic, enchanting document of Scottish folklore about fairies, elves, and other supernatural creatures. Late in the seventeenth century, Robert Kirk, an Episcopalian minister in the Scottish Highlands, set out to collect his parishioners’ many striking stories about elves, fairies, fauns, doppelgängers, wraiths, and other beings of, in Kirk’s words, “a middle nature betwixt man and angel.” For Kirk these stories constituted strong evidence for the reality of a supernatural world, existing parallel to ours, which, he passionately believed, demanded exploration as much as the New World across the seas. Kirk defended these views in The Secret Commonwealth, an essay that was left in manuscript when he died in 1692. It is a rare and fascinating work, an extraordinary amalgam of science, religion, and folklore, suffused with the spirit of active curiosity and bemused wonder that fills Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy and the works of Sir Thomas Browne. The Secret Commonwealth is not only a remarkable document in the history of ideas but a study of enchantment that enchants in its own right. First published in 1815 by Sir Walter Scott, then reedited in 1893 by Andrew Lang, with a dedication to Robert Louis Stevenson, The Secret Commonwealth has long been difficult to obtain—available, if at all, only in scholarly editions. This new edition modernizes the spelling and punctuation of Kirk’s little book and features a wide-ranging and illuminating introduction by the critic and historian Marina Warner, who brings out the originality of Kirk’s contribution and reflects on the ongoing life of fairies in the modern mind.

"Kirk is a magnificent dish to set before any student of either folk-lore or folk-psychology."--"Times Literary Supplement "In the late seventeenth century, a Scottish minister went looking for supernatural creatures of "a middle nature betwixt man and angel." Robert Kirk roamed the Highlands, talking to his parishioners and other country folk about their encounters with fairies, wraiths, elves, doppelgangers, and other agents of the spirit world. Magic was a part of everyday life for Kirk and his fellow Highlanders, and this remarkable book offers rare glimpses into their enchanted realm. Left in manuscript form upon the author's death in 1692, this volume was first published in 1815 at the behest of Sir Walter Scott. In 1893, the distinguished folklorist Andrew Lang re-edited the work. Lang's introduction to Kirk's extraordinary blend of science, religion, and superstition is included in this edition. 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 inexpensive edition.

A “beguiling fairy tale” by the bestselling author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog (The New York Times). The villagers had never seen anything like it: dense white curtains of snow that instantly transformed the landscape. Not in autumn, not here in Burgundy. And on the same night a baby was discovered, dark-eyed little Maria, who would transform all their lives. Hundreds of miles away in the mountains of Abruzzo, another foundling, Clara, astonishes everyone with her extraordinary talent for piano playing. But her gifts go far beyond simple musicianship. As a time of great danger looms, though the girls know nothing of each other, it is the bond that unites them and others like them which will ultimately offer the only chance for good to prevail in the world. “Vivid imagery and a thread of mystery draw readers into the timeless and ethereal world of these young girls with a destiny to fulfill.” —Booklist “The novel is essentially a parable about the power both of art, which abolishes the ‘border between earth and mind,’ and of women.” —The New Yorker “Fans of both Barbery and fantasy from writers like Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen will be enchanted.” —Library Journal