Brownies and Bogles

by Louise Imogen Guiney

In "Brownies and Bogles," Guiney presents a series of whimsical and charming stories featuring magical creatures such as brownies (small, helpful beings from Scottish folklore) and bogles (mischievous or fearsome creatures from British folklore). Each story explores themes of kindness, bravery, and the importance of good character, often through the adventures and interactions of these supernatural beings with humans.

Guiney's writing in "Brownies and Bogles" is known for its lyrical language, rich imagery, and ability to capture the imagination of young readers. The stories combine elements of fairy tales with moral instruction, reflecting Guiney's belief in the power of storytelling to convey virtues and values.

Genres: Mythology, Magic, Folk Tales, Spirituality

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1888

About the author

The daughter of Gen. Patrick R. Guiney, she was educated at a convent school in Providence, Rhode Island. She edited editions of J. C. Mangan and of Matthew Arnold, and shared with Mrs. Spofford and Alice Brown the authorship of Three Heroines of English Romance (1894).

Poem collections
* Songs at the Start (1884)
* The White Sail and Other Poems (1887)
* The Martyr's Idyl, and Shorter Poems (1899)

Prose
* Monsieur Henri, a Footnote to French History (1892)
* A Little English Gallery (1894)
* Patrins: A Collection of Essays (1897)
* Hurrell Froude (1904)

-wikipedia

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Brownies & Bogles is a beautiful and knowledgeable non-fiction book compiled by Louise Imogen Guiney in 1888, which has been reformatted.
I've always loved Fae, so when I saw this, I just had to read it. This book is very victorian in its style and is presented as a serious collection of information and classification and includes many footnotes throughout. The illustrations are beautiful, and I'd love to see the originals! I stopped several times whilst reading this and pictured the author during the victorian time period working on this book and found it fascinating.
As a fan of Emily Wildes Encyclopedia of Faeries and a fan of Fae themselves, I'd highly recommend this to anyone with similar interests.

[JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little read written in a matter of fact way I found as delightful as the subjects.

[Lena Heronstairs · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's way to confusing and make many turns in the same direction, as if the author had no more information about the subject. It is helpful but just to certain point.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Brownies & Bogles is a charming and well researched and grounded monograph on the fey folk by Louise Imogen Guiney. Originally published in 1888, this reformat and re-release is due out 7th Jan 2025 from Crossed Crow Books as part of their Texts of Antiquity series. It's 200 pages and will be available in paperback format.

There's a spectrum of lore about fairies and supernatural creatures, from the utterly fluffy and harmless/humorous, to the very serious and scholarly. This book falls toward the latter classification on that sliding rule. The terms and descriptions as well as the classifications are presented seriously, utterly devoid of snickers and winks. It's a product of the Victorian era, and it does show its age in some ways, but otherwise is charmingly written and presented in a straightforward, serious manner. It's annotated throughout and the author makes an effort to trace the history, etymology, and lore throughout literature and linguistics (there are LOTS of really interesting tidbits to glean here).

It's annotated throughout with copious footnotes, but there are no chapter notes included in this edition. There is a very abbreviated bibliography, but this edition also lacks an index, which is slightly more problematic for a paperback format.

The book is charmingly illustrated throughout with incidental half page illustrations, margin details, and chapter headings by Edmund H. Garrett. This edition also includes an erudite and well written foreword by Chris Allaun.

This is absolutely not a cute/silly collection of tales, but a serious scholarly presentation of a supernatural subject within the lore. Whatever readers' personal beliefs are about other realms and beings, it has value as a fairly thorough evaluation and historical snapshot of the fair folk during the late Victorian period. The same care is evident in this volume as other translations and records of similar works (c.f. Evangeline Walton's translation of the Mabinogion).

Five stars for the execution and care, and for bringing otherwise lost works to a new generation of readers. It would be a good choice for library acquisition, readers' home use, or possibly as a support or supplemental text for allied studies (history, literature, fantasy, speculative fiction, religious studies, etc).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Anna Wooliver Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-formatted and republished, this originally published overview of folklore and mythology is a Victorian delight. It is wonderful to see a work like this republished for modern readers. A serious look at folklore, not to be missed.