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"The Fairy Mythology" by Thomas Keightley is a comprehensive exploration of folklore and beliefs surrounding fairies from various cultures, written in the late 19th century. This work delves into how fairy traditions and superstitions have been interwoven into the mythologies of numerous countries, revealing their origins, characteristics, and significance in the human imagination. The text appears to present a scholarly approach to fairy lore, drawing connections between different mythological structures and narratives. At the start of the volume, the author reflects on his own literary journey and the genesis of this work which stems from his early interest in fairy legends prompted by a friend collecting Irish folklore. He notes the origins of belief in fairies, discussing how people throughout history have attributed unexplained phenomena to the agency of these mythical beings. The opening suggests a blend of philosophical inquiry and folkloric examination, positioning fairies not

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A preface is to a book what a prologue is to a play--a usual, often
agreeable, but by no means necessary precursor. It may therefore be
altered or omitted at pleasure. I have at times exercised this right,
and this is the third I have written for the present work.

In the first, after briefly stating what had given occasion to it, I
gave the germs of the theory which I afterwards developed in the Tales
and Popular Fictions. The second contained the following paragraph:--

"I never heard of any one who read it that was not pleased with it. It
was translated into German as soon as it appeared, and was very
favourably received. Goethe thought well of it. Dr. Jacob Grimm--perhaps
the first authority on these matters in Europe--wrote me a letter
commending it, and assuring me that even to him it offered something
new; and I was one Christmas most agreeably surprised by the receipt of
a letter from Vienna, from the celebrated orientalist, Jos Von Hammer,
informing me that it had been the companion of a journey he had lately
made to his native province of Styria, and had afforded much pleasure
and information to himself and to some ladies of high rank and
cultivated minds in that country. The initials at the end of the
preface, he said, led him to suppose it was a work of mine. So far for
the Continent. In this country, when I mention the name of Robert
Southey as that of one who has more than once expressed his decided
approbation of this performance, I am sure I shall have said quite
enough to satisfy any one that the work is not devoid of merit."

I could now add many names of distinguished persons who have been
pleased with this work and its pendent, the Tales and Popular Fictions.
I shall only mention that of the late Mr. Douce, who, very shortly
before his death, on the

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