Good Faeries, Bad Faeries: 2 Books in 1

Froud, Brian

ISBN 10: 0684847817 / ISBN 13: 9780684847818

Published by Simon & Schuster, Riverside, New Jersey, U.S.A., 1998

About this Item

A lovely copy of the first printing signed by Froud on the Good Faeries side of the book with a small sketch, all done in brown ink. Seller Inventory # 013452

Bibliographic Details

Title: Good Faeries, Bad Faeries: 2 Books in 1

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Riverside, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Publication Date: 1998

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine dust jacket

Signed: Signed by Illustrator(s)

Edition: First Edition, First Printing.

Book Type: Book

About this title

Synopsis:

"Once upon a time, I thought faeries lived only in books, old folktales, and the past. That was before they burst upon my life as vibrant, luminous beings, permeating my art and my everyday existence, causing glorious havoc..." In the long-awaited sequel to the international bestseller "Faeries", artist Brian Froud rescues pixies, gnomes, and other faeries from the isolation of the nursery and the distance of history, bringing them into the present day with vitality and imagination. In this richly imagined new book, Brian reveals the secrets he has learned from the faeries-- what their noses and shoes look like, what mischief and what gentle assistance they can give, what their souls and their dreams are like. As it turns out, faeries aren't all sweetness and light. In addition to such good faeries as Dream Weavers and Faery Godmothers, Brian introduces us to a host of less well behaved creatures-- traditional bad faeries like Morgana le Fay, but also the Soul Shrinker and the Gloominous Doom. The faery kingdom, we find, is as subject to good and evil as the human realm. Brilliantly documenting both the dark and the light, "Good Faeries/Bad Faeries" presents a world of enchantment and magic that deeply compels the imagination.

Review:

Brian Froud is an artist with a flair for subtly coloured fantasy. Here he revisits the ethereal territory of his art books Faeries (with Alan Lee) and the comic- gruesome Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book (with Terry Jones)--the latter a Hugo award winner. Froud has a whole philosophy of faeries and their reality which some readers may find a bit woozily "New Age", though traditional lore and Jungian archetypes are also discussed. Symbolising his sense that "good" and "bad" can shift with viewpoint, this large-format volume consists of Good Faeries and Bad Faeries bound back to back, each upside down relative to the other. The fine artwork offers more variety than you might expect from this subject: traditional faeries, grotesques and comic figures (in both sections), horrors, abstract energy patterns, and crowded, symbolic scenes reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch or Richard Dadd. Just as in Paradise Lost, the bad guys can be more fun--from their hauntingly imagined Queen, through nasties like the Bigot Bogey and spirits of various dark emotions, to such familiar metaphorical nuisances as the Computer Glitch, Small Pang of Regret and Bad Hair Day Faery. Crammed with Froud's full-colour paintings, this is an attractive gift book. -- David Langford