Katharine briggs biography

British folklorist and writer

This article is about the English folklorist. For the American psychologist, see Katharine Cook Briggs.

Katharine Mary Briggs (8 November 1898 – 15 October 1980) was a British folklorist and writer, who wrote The Anatomy of Puck, the four-volume A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales in the English Language, and various other books on fairies and folklore.

From 1969 to 1972, she was president of the Folklore Society, which established an award in her name to commemorate her life and work.^[1]

Biography

Katharine Briggs was born in Hampstead, London, the eldest of three surviving daughters of Ernest Edward Briggs, who came from Yorkshire (his family had had great success in coal mining in Halifax and Wakefield), and Mary Cooper.

The other two sisters were named Winifred and Elspeth. Ernest was a watercolour artist with a specific interest in Scottish scenery who often told his children stories, possibly sparking