The Edinburgh Critical Edition of the Selected Writings of Andrew Lang. Volume 1: Anthropology, Fairy Tale, Folklore, The Origins of Religion, Psychical Research

This is the first critical edition of the works of Andrew Lang (1844-1912), the Scottish writer whose enormous output spanned the whole range of late-nineteenth century intellectual culture. Neglected since his death, partly because of the diversity of his interests and the volume of his writing, his cultural centrality and the interdisciplinary nature of his work make him a vital figure for contemporary scholars. This volume covers Lang s wide and influential engagement with the central areas of late nineteenth-century anthropology. Lang made decisive interventions in debates around the meaning of folk tales and the origins of religion, as well as being an important figure in the investigation of spiritualist claims through psychical research. The work reproduced here includes journalism, essays, extracts from books and previously unpublished letters which together articulate and challenge some of the central ideas and discussions of the period, including evolution, the relation between modern and non-modern cultures, the nature of scientific claims to truth, and the consequences of materialism. The volume will provide new and illuminating ways of understanding and assessing the period for scholars across a range of disciplines, including those interested in the histories of the fairy story, of science, of the occult, of colonialism and of anthropology.