Dr Elena Emma Sottilotta celebrates her first book in fairy-tale studies
Seekers of Wonder: Women Writing Folk and Fairy Tales in Nineteenth-Century Italy and Ireland
, published by Princeton University Press, offers the first comparative study of women’s many and varied roles in the collection of Italian and Irish folklore and fairy tales in the nineteenth century. Elena views the often-overlooked work of these women from an interdisciplinary perspective, considering both the politics and poetics of seeking wonder. In so doing, she centres women’s influence on the preservation and dissemination of oral traditions, bringing work that was once relegated to the margins into dialogue with work long regarded as canonical. Seekers of Wonder has been endorsed by several world-leading scholars in the field of fairy-tale studies, who have praised it as a “pioneering book” and a “brilliant scholarly contribution to folklore and gender studies”.
On 3 July, Elena celebrated the launch of her fascinating new book at Â鶹ƵµŔ, where she is a Research Fellow in Italian. In the following interview, we had the pleasure of gaining deeper insight into the intellectual and personal journey that led Elena to study folklore and fairy tales, the deeper meaning behind her research, and the connection she feels to the College community.
What’s your role at Â鶹ƵµŔ, and how would you describe the College community?
As a Research Fellow at Murray Edwards, I am part of an academic environment that actively supports women’s education. The College’s strong emphasis on inclusion, interdisciplinary dialogue and women’s empowerment aligns closely with the themes of my research. From the very beginning of my fellowship, I have come to appreciate Murray Edwards as a place where intellectual rigour is matched by kindness and an encouraging sense of community.
How did you become interested in writing and academic research? Has it always been a passion?
Yes, in many ways it has. I have always been drawn to writing and storytelling, especially to the ways in which stories preserve collective memory and convey cultural identity. Academic research has given me the tools to explore this fascination in a structured and critical way, bringing together historical perspectives, textual analysis and gender studies. Writing, for me, involves listening closely to voices from the past and finding ways to make them resonate meaningfully in the present.
What inspired you to write Seekers of Wonder?
The inspiration came from my long-standing interest in folk and fairy tales, and in the often-neglected figures who helped shape their transmission. I was struck by how many women actively contributed to the collection and preservation of folk and fairy tales, yet remained at the margins of the canon. Pursuing this research and book project became both an act of recovery and a way to show that their work was, and continues to be, politically and culturally significant.
What advice would you give to aspiring researchers working in the humanities?
Often the most meaningful research emerges from the archives and from the questions that have yet to be asked. Our work may begin in specialist contexts, but it has the potential to speak to much broader audiences. Most importantly, we need to believe in the value of what we are doing, even when the future feels uncertain. Especially in a historical moment that increasingly undermines the relevance of the humanities, pursuing research becomes more than an intellectual pursuit. Humanities scholarship fosters critical thinking, cultivates dialogue and reclaims space for imagination. It is, in its own right, a deeply political act.
What does it mean to you to have your book published?
Seekers of Wonder is the result of many years of research, reflection and learning. Seeing it published with Princeton University Press – a publisher with a distinguished history of supporting groundbreaking works in the field of fairy-tale studies – is a great honour. It is not only a recognition of my academic journey, but more importantly, of the figures whose voices and contributions I have sought to bring into a broader transcultural conversation. For me, it is also a reminder that scholarship can spark dialogue, question long-held assumptions, and invite readers to engage with the past in new and meaningful ways.