J.R.R. Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy-Stories” was first published in 1947.
The essay developed from a lecture Tolkien delivered at the University of St Andrews in 1938. It was published in Essays Presented to Charles Williams, a collection honoring Tolkien’s friend and fellow Inkling, who had died in 1945. The essay later appeared in revised or collected forms, including the 1964 volume Tree and Leaf.
Tolkien’s discussion examines what fairy stories are, where they come from, and what they can do for readers. He identifies several functions, including Recovery, Escape, and Consolation. The essay also introduces or explains ideas that became strongly associated with Tolkien, such as subcreation and eucatastrophe.
The publication date is sometimes confused with 1938, the year of the St Andrews lecture, or 1964, the year of the widely read Tree and Leaf collection. Those dates refer to important stages in the essay’s history, but 1947 is the date of its first publication.