Elves, changelings, leprechauns, pixies, brownies and sprites; England''s Queen Mab, France''s Melusine, Scandinavian nixies and Scottish selkies: these magical creatures are sometimes mischievous, sometimes dangerous, always enchanting. This collection brings together a diverse array of literary fairies: here are Spenser''s Faerie Queene, Shakespeare''s Titania, Keats''s Belle Dame Sans Merci, of course, but also Rimbaud''s ''Fairy'', Goethe''s ''Erl-King'', Denise Levertov''s ''Elves'', Sylvia Plath''s ''Lorelei'', Christopher Okigbo''s ''Watermaid'', Neil Gaiman''s ''The Fairy Reel'' and Patience Agbabi''s changeling boy (''The Double'').