Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales

The importance of stories in the universe of Faerie can be gleaned from an early conversation between Emily and Wendell: When Emily frets that she is unprepared to be a monarch because she knows only stories, Wendell asks, “and have you ever needed anything else? […] Hand you the right storybook, and you are capable of anything” (23). Wendell’s remarks to Emily here stress the fact that in Faerie, stories constitute practice; they are not just entertainment but also templates for reality. Of course, the importance of stories in Faerie can also be read as an allegory for the centrality of folklore in the real world. Folktales persist across generations because they convey aspects of human experience that are otherwise difficult to speak about. Folktales teach people how to understand themselves within their specific cultural contexts, and as such they can either reinforce or challenge existing power structures. By placing emphasis on storytelling as a means of shaping reality, rather than merely representing reality, the novel raises questions about the relationship between narrative, power, and truth.

The importance of stories in creating and changing reality is evident in Emily’s use of the Macan stories to understand Wendell’s position in the political world of Silva Lupi.