Which Tolkien work contains the essay “On Fairy-Stories”?

Tree and Leaf contains J.R.R. Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy-Stories.”

Tree and Leaf is a 1964 collection that brought together “On Fairy-Stories” and the short story “Leaf by Niggle,” along with Tolkien’s poem “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil” in some editions and arrangements. The essay originated as a lecture delivered at the University of St Andrews in 1938 and later became one of Tolkien’s most important statements about fantasy.

In “On Fairy-Stories,” Tolkien discusses the nature and purpose of fairy stories. He argues that such tales can offer recovery, escape, and consolation, while also describing the creative process he calls “sub-creation.” The essay helps explain why he regarded invented worlds as serious artistic creations rather than mere evasions of reality.

Readers sometimes identify the essay with the separate collection The Monsters and the Critics, which contains Tolkien’s major scholarly essays. That book was published posthumously in 1983, while Tree and Leaf appeared during Tolkien’s lifetime.