Perilous Enchantment: Sarah Clegg in Conversation with Ronald Hutton

About this event

Sarah Clegg visits Foyles to discuss her newest book 'Perilous Enchantment' with Ronald Hutton. This is the curious and real history of the creatures that have beguiled, tricked, terrified, seduced and enchanted us for millennia. We often think of them as tiny, glittering creatures fluttering about in pastel tulle, but fairies haven't always been so benign. Here, historian Sarah Clegg explores the true history of fairies, and the menace and ambiguity that always lurks within the shimmering fantasy. This history takes us from elf fires in Iceland to a burial mound in Ireland; and from a stream in Cottingley where two sisters created a fairy hoax to a modern-day fairy ball in Los Angeles. Along the way, Clegg reveals fairies' connection to ancient gods and their role in the witch-trials, and examines their seductive presence in romantasy today. This is a story of how fairy myths grew and spread across Europe, of how they changed and developed, and why we have, for centuries, been so enthralled by the danger and enchantment of the fae. Sarah Clegg is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller The Dead of Winter. Her first book, Woman's Lore, was shortlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown. She has a PhD in ancient history from the University of Cambridge, is a former bookseller and now works in publishing. Ronald Hutton is Professor of History in the University of Bristol, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries, the Learned Society of Wales, and the British Academy. He has held a number of public posts and been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He is currently the chair of the first national Blue Plaques Panel. He has published nineteen books and ninety-six essays on a wide range of subjects including British history between 1400 and 1700, ancient and modern paganism in Britain, the British ritual year, and Siberian shamanism. Your ticket includes a complimentary glass of wine. Tickets : £10 General Admission / £8 Foyalty Member / £20 Book and Ticket (inc. a copy of Perilous Enchantment RRP £18.99) Venue : The Auditorium (Level 6) at Foyles, 107 Charing Cross Road*