J.R.R. Tolkien first delivered his lecture On Fairy-Stories in 1939.
The lecture was presented as the Andrew Lang lecture at the University of St Andrews in Scotland on 8 March 1939. Tolkien used the occasion to defend the seriousness and value of fairy stories, arguing that they were not merely children’s entertainment.
He discussed several ideas that became influential in fantasy criticism, including “sub-creation,” the making of a coherent secondary world, and the emotional power of “eucatastrophe,” the sudden joyful turn at the end of a story. He also considered how fairy stories can offer recovery, escape, and consolation.
A revised version was later published in the essay collection Tree and Leaf in 1964. On Fairy-Stories is frequently read alongside Tolkien’s fiction because it explains principles visible in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, though it is an essay rather than a fictional narrative.