Andrew Lang

Andrew Lang (1844 to 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic and contributor to anthropology, best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. Born in Selkirk, he studied at the University of St Andrews and Balliol College, Oxford, and later became a fellow of Merton College. He was elected president of The Folklore Society in 1888 and a fellow of the British Academy in 1906. His anthropological writing includes Custom and Myth of 1884, Myth, Ritual and Religion of 1887, in which he explained the irrational elements of mythology as survivals from more primitive forms, and Social Origins of 1903 on the origins of totemism. His Blue Fairy Book of 1889 began a long series of fairy books whose work was largely done by his wife Leonora Blanche Lang and a team of assistants.