Briggs, Katharine Mary
biographical statement
Katharine M. Briggs (1898-1980) was a folklorist who contributed greatly to the field of British fairies and folk narratives disproving the idea Britain did not have any folk-tales. Daughter of Ernest Briggs, an eminent water-colorist, she grew up in both London and the Highlands of Scotland (Perthshire) where her father spent much of his time painting landscapes. During her time at Oxford she became interested in Elizabethan and Jacobean literature, an interest which shows up in her first academic book: The Anatomy of Puck (1959) on the treatment of fairies and witches in Shakespearian literature. Though she received her B.A. in 1922 and her M.A. in 1926, she did not complete her D.Phil. until after WWII, at which point she began her career as a British folklorist. She was an active Girl Guide, playwright and children's novelist during her adult life, aspects of which contributed to the direction of her later academic work.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Katharine M. Briggs Collection
Papers of British folklorist Katherine M. Briggs (1898-1980). Scholarship on British Isles folklore, Elizabethan and Jacobean literature, children's literature; book, article and play manuscripts and typescripts; correspondence.