Which lecture by J.R.R. Tolkien was published as the essay “On Fairy-Stories”?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy-Stories” originated as the Andrew Lang lecture.

Tolkien delivered the lecture at the University of St Andrews in 1938. It was named for Andrew Lang, the Scottish folklorist and writer whose Fairy Books were influential collections of traditional tales. Tolkien’s lecture examined what fairy stories are, what they can do, and why adults should not dismiss them as material only for children.

The essay later became one of Tolkien’s most important statements about fantasy. It discusses concepts including recovery, escape, and consolation, and it argues that fantasy can offer a renewed perception of ordinary things. Tolkien also describes the “eucatastrophe,” a sudden joyful turn that provides a defining emotional effect in the best fairy stories.

The published essay is frequently read alongside Tolkien’s fiction because it explains principles visible in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It is not the same work as his 1936 lecture “The Monsters and the Critics.”