Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
This book collects the hitherto unpublished correspondence between science fiction legend Sir Arthur C. Clarke and fantasy master Lord Dunsany. Their correspondence, which lasted 12 years (1944-1956), reveals much about the world views of both authors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A fascinating book
Fenbug needs to get hir facts straight. Arthur C. Clarke was already a published author when he began to correspond with Lord Dunsany in 1944, and by 1956 -- the last year of their correspondence -- Clarke had published some of his best classic fiction, most notably Childhood's End (1953).

If engaging in reasoned dialogue on topics as fascinating as space exploration and imaginative literature is "fawning," then so be it.

This book is a valuable resource for literary scholars, fans of Clarke and/or Dunsany, and anyone with an interest in the early years of the Space Age. Keith Allen Daniels is to be commended for his editorial and publishing acumen, and for his understanding of the importance of these letters.

A fascinating book
Fenbug needs to get hir facts straight. Arthur C. Clarke was already a published author when he began to correspond with Lord Dunsany in 1944, and by 1956 -- the last year of their correspondence -- Clarke had published some of his best classic fiction, most notably Childhood's End (1953).

If engaging in reasoned dialogue on topics as fascinating as space exploration and imaginative literature is "fawning," then so be it.

This book is a valuable resource for literary scholars, fans of Clarke and/or Dunsany, and anyone with an interest in the early years of the Space Age. Keith Allen Daniels is to be commended for his editorial and publishing acumen, and for his understanding of the importance of these letters. ... Read more

Product Description
1926. The book begins: Picture a summer evening somber and sweet over Spain, the glittering sheen of leaves fading to soberer colors, the sky in the west all soft, and mysterious as low music, and in the east like a frown. Picture the Golden Age past its wonderful zenith, and westering now towards its setting. In such a time of day and time of year, and in such a time of history, a young man was traveling on foot on a Spanish road, from a village well-nigh unknown, towards the gloom and grandeur of mountains. And as he traveled a wind rising up with the fall of day flapped his cloak hugely about him. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

When the sun goes out, the magic goes away
So the best part of the novel is the climatic scene where Ramon Alonzo stands on top of the magician's tower, with arcane forces crackling around him and demands in his most booming voice, "Return yon shadow to me, foul wizard, or you shall perish in the shadows of Hell!"It's just so action packed and-

-and it never really happens.I'm just kidding.There's maybe one scene of action in the book at all and the book is all the more awesome for it.

For those just tuning in, Lord Dunsany was probably way cooler than you or I, and not just because he's a lord, could kick our butts in chess, and hung out with royalty the same way that I wait in line at the deli counter.No, he's cool because he understands magic.He GETS it.And not in the way of many writers today, who throw a few fancy nmaes on things, make some sparkly nifty battles and assume that it covers everything.Maybe even summon a demon for good measure.

No, what makes magic work is that it's magical.It's not of here and yet has to be utterly inherent to the world itself, existing on the same layer and slightly apart, something that you don't quite see until you discover the right way to stare at it.You don't need a magic portal or some kind of weird scepter to get in, just a certain level of acceptance.Magic should feel strange in the same way that watching a Venus Fly Trap kill something for the first time is strange, because it's utterly unearthly and inescapably part of this world at the same time.You can explain it, but that doesn't make it any more normal.But it is natural.

Dunsany understood this, and that's why fantasy writers then and now look to him when they want to really capture that feeling, the sensation just before the sun goes down on a summer's dusk and how that seconds seems to hover unerringly into the clasp of forever.With "King of Elfland's Daughter" he discussed the intersection between magical and mundane, and how one could be mistaken for the other.Here, he shows us the hidden angles of magic and how the most important parts of yourself are the ones you think you wouldn't miss, until you find out that isn't true.

Ramon Alonzo needs to make money fast for his family, because his sister needs to build up her dowry (being fifteen, she's practically an old maid . . . different times, children) . . . so his father sends him to an old magician that his father taught how to hunt boars years ago.The magician is more than willing to help, for one simple price . . . Ramon's shadow.Not such a bad deal, Ramon thinks.

Except the weird charwoman who keeps scrubbing the floors starts weeping uncontrollably every time he mentions it to her, lamenting the loss of her own shadow.Still, where's the harm?

Dunsany, through the magic of prose, manages to take something completely mundane, that most of us probably fail to notice time and again, and turn it into such a vital part of ourselves that you will feel that something has gone wrong on a cloudy day when you can't see your shadow anymore.The loss of Ramon's shadow, when it comes (and its poor replacement) feels akin to abject horror in its impact so that you wind up screaming at the book "Don't do it, you fool!"

Yet, the magician never comes off as evil, merely methodical.He likes shadows and people like to learn about stuff he doesn't care about, so it's an even trade.Distracted by learning, the struggle doesn't become so much between Ramon and the magician so much as whether Ramon will be able to unravel what is going on and get everyone's shadows back before its' too late and children run screaming from him forever.To this end, Dunsany achieves the fantastic trick of turning a scene of Ramon reciting syllables over and over again to try to figure out which Chinese character unlocks the cask into an actual scene of tension.This is a rare feat.

But again, he takes what should be mundane and pulls it through the eyes of others, so that simple writing and reading become more fascinating that unicorns and trolls.Conveying a sense of wonder from such cloth isn't really that easy, contiuning to ignite that sense in people nearly a hundred years after the book was published speaks to how well Dunsany works the various threads that go into his writings.

His prose is typically poetic, with his turns of phrase graceful and elegant and exactly what the scene requires, nothing more or less.It's amazing in itself, especially in how he conjures a long ago Spain that never really existed (it's worth considering whether Miles Davis' "Sketches of Spain" is an appropriate soundtrack), imbuing a fictional place with enough of a magical sense that when the magic finally goes right at the end, it feels like the passing of an era, even though it was never real.

Yes, you can probably guess what's going to happen between Ramon and the charwoman, but Dunsany still has some twists left and it's interesting that the struggle between Ramon and the magician isn't the object of the story.It's the relationships, it's taking what you have and using it to get what you want, without resorting to dark arts.You win because your heart is true and you are clever and that is what matters, although it helps to be lucky.The journey is just as important as the getting there and it's telling that when the story ends we feel some measure of elation and also sadness, for a land with an extra invisible layer of sunlight stripped away, where the shadows dance that much less even as certain people clutch them ever tighter to their heels, knowing them more precious than ever the finest gold.

Very well done from beginning to end
Ramon Alonzo is a young man who has been sent to live with, and learn from, a famous wizard. He is only interested in how to turn base metals into gold. His sister is engaged to be married, and the family hopes that a small chest full of gold will suffice as a dowry.

While studying with the wizard, Ramon meets an elderly charwoman who has no shadow. The wizard took it many years ago, and refuses to give it back, keeping it in a locked box. She is basically trapped at the castle; she was chased out of the nearby village years before as some sort of demon, because of her lack of shadow. In a moment of chivalry, Ramon vows to retrieve her shadow. The charwoman urges Ramon to never, ever give up his shadow.

As part of his teaching fee, the wizard demands Ramon's shadow, but replaces it with a fake shadow that looks, and acts, like the real thing. Ramon figures that he has gotten a great deal; the ability to create gold for nothing. That is, until the day that Ramon is also chased out of the local village as some sort of monster. The problem with his fake shadow is that it does not shrink or grow depending on the time of day; it is the same size, all the time.

Ramon receives a letter from home, and is told to forget the gold; make a love potion, instead. He creates one on his own, and during a visit home, it is given to a visiting Duke. The potion nearly kills the Duke, and causes great embarrassment to the family. He is bedridden for several days, during which time Ramon's sister is the only one who can get near him. In the meantime, back at the castle, with much patience and diligence, Ramon finds the combination to the box of shadows. He releases several shadows, including his own, and that of a young woman. He brings it to the charwoman, not knowing if it is the right one; it is. Ramon figures that the shadow of the young woman will turn into an elderly crone. To his delight, the transformation goes the other way, and the charwoman turns into a young woman. After they escape from the wizard, the next problem concerns Ramon's family. Since she is not of noble blood, will they accept her as Ramon's bride?

From the first few paragraphs, the reader will know that they are in the hands of a master. Dunsany is generally considered the most influential author in the entire fantasy field. Stories like this will justify such a claim. It is very well done from beginning to end, and will get the reader looking at their shadow in a whole new way.

Shadows
Before Tolkien told his children bedtime stories about hobbits and dwarves, there was Lord Dunsany. One of the early fantasy writers, Dunsany only wrote a few full-length novels -- one of which was the haunting, beautifully-written "Charwoman's Shadow," a story that slips into the grey place between good and evil.

Ramon Alonzo is a young Spanish nobleman sent to find a dowry for his sister Mirandola. He goes to a powerful magician to learn alchemy -- how to turn dross into gold. The magician agrees, at a price: Ramon Alonzo's shadow. At first he's inclined to give up his shadow, but an elderly charwoman warns him not to. She gave up her shadow, and now is shunned by everyone except the magician because if her contact with dark magic.

Eventually Ramon Alonzo agrees to give up his shadow in exchange for a replacement, which turns out to be a dud. His attempts at magic for his sister's sake begin to go horribly wrong, and he finds his very soul in peril as he struggles to fulfil his promise to the charwoman, and get back both of their shadows.

Most of Dunsany's fantasy stories are set in fictional lands full of magic and wizards and gods. This one is slightly different, as it is set in a sort of semi-fictional part of Spain, and magic is something which leads to evil. But the plot in this book has the same sort of otherworldly edge that his more fantastical works do. (Although if any Harry Potter fans think that Rowling created the "philosopher's stone," they'll be sadly disappointed)

It has a straightforward plot, which is made more elaborate by his flowery prose. Dunsany was one of those writers who dwelled on the more beautiful details of his stories, and as a result, "Charwoman's Shadow" has the feeling of a dream. Especially in scenes where really strange things happen, like the charwoman scrubbing a bloodstained floor stone, or Ramon Alonzo's fake shadow getting up and racing away.

Ramon Alonzo is a good hero -- he's a nice guy who gets enmeshed in bad things for good reasons. The charwoman Anemone herself remains a mystery for most of the book, although one development is rather obvious early on. And the other two characters show the good vs. evil struggle: Father Joseph, a kindly priest, and the cold, cruel magician who"scorns salvation" and shows no pity to someone he's wronged.

"The Charwoman's Shadow" is not only an early fantasy novel, but also an exquisite little story of love, magic and kindness. Definitely worth checking out.

A classic of fantasy...come learn the magic of language!
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, better and more succinctly known by his title, Lord Dunsany (pronounced "done-SANEY"), is perhaps the most important British fantasy author to appear before Tolkien. Lord Dunsany's work has little connection to Tolkien's except that both create feelings of wonder in readers that whisk them away to fantastic worlds. Dunsany's work has a less realistic, more ethereal quality than Tolkien's, and draws strongly on the traditional fairy-tale, while at that same time energizing the simplicity of the fairy-tale with his sense of drama (Dunsany was also a playwright) and with his magnificent, fluid, beautiful writing. His 1927 novel, "The Charwoman's Shadow," is one of his greatest works, second only to "The King of Elfland's Daughter."

Edward Plunkett was born in 1878, became the 18th Lord Dunsany upon the death of his father in 1899, and made an unsuccessful attempt to run for parliament in 1904. With his failure in politics, he began writing his stories of the fantastic, beginning with the collection (currently in-print) "The Gods of Pegana." He enjoyed great literary success and acclaim until his death in 1957, but sadly, at the end of the century, his literature seemed in danger of vanishing from the minds of all but ardent fantasy historians and those who could afford the out-of-print volumes containing his work. But Dunsany has suddenly roared back into print; if you're a lover of fantasy, you cannot miss "The Charwoman's Shadow." It ranks as one of finest novels of the fantastic.

The story takes place in a fantasy vision of medieval Spain: "Picture an evening sombre and sweet over Spain, the glittering sheen of leaves fading to somberer colours...Picture the Golden Age past its wonderful zenith, and westering now towards its setting." Young Ramon Alonzo goes to learn the One True Art -- the art of magic -- from a master magician who lives in an old house in the woods. The Master requires a fee, however: Don Alonzo's shadow. The boy surrenders it, believing it is of no use to him. But even as he advances himself in the magic arts, he soon learns there are serious consequences to losing your shadow. An old charwoman who works for the Master seeks Don Alonzo's aid, for she too lost her shadow many years ago to the Master, and she desires it back. The two enter an alliance, one that Don Alonzo starts to regret when he discovers the youthful beauty of the old charwoman's shadow.

There are no action set-pieces in "The Charwoman's Shadow," no epic battles, no swarms of monsters and demons, but every sequence in the book is full of unforgettable images and beauty. The scene of re-attaching the shadow makes the book a masterpiece on its own; it reduced me to tears the first time I read it. Lord Dunsany will remind you of no other writer, and you'll thrill to discover his unique take on fantasy, feeling if you were sharing a secret private encounter.

Dunsany's word magic pulses stronger than any of the actual magic that appears in the book. In fact, the book is really about the power of language itself; we spend time with Don Alonzo pouring over words and learning their secrets. As Peter S. Beagle (author of "The Last Unicorn") says in his brief but powerful introduction, Dunsany had "an understanding that the right name for a character can imply an entire culture, a history, a music, a world; that a single word chosen properly can persuade a reader that he shares a folklore he can't possibly know...To open this book is, like Don Ramon Alonzo, to begin learning the true nature of enchantment from a master."

I can't give a better recommendationthan that, so I will only second him: open this book and fall deep into the fantasy of language.

Master of prose, unfairly burdened with the role of pioneer
Those approaching Dunsany because of his reputation as a proto-fantasy writer (in the sense we now use "fantasy" to decribe a genre) are bound to be disappointed.Happily, he hails from an age before such labels solidified into something restrictive, and his intoxicating prose can be regarded as "fantastic" in its looser sense.He was also a good deal more versatile than the description "fantasy-writer" would suggest, at one point with five plays being staged concurrently on Broadway.

The reviewer who cites Dunsany's dreamy style hits closer to the mark.Dunsany is not about plot.He is all about atmosphere, and the joy of language.Here, as elsewhere, there is a heavy perfume in the air, and an admitted stream-of-consciousness at work.If details seem to appear out of nowhere, it is probably because they do.It is part of what makes Dunsany so fascinating.The reader is aware of a fecund imagination spontaneously drawing connections with every sentence.This is unfettered inspiration at work, and it is refreshing in a day when conformity (and bland prose) rules to encounter a writer so obviously delighting in his own personal muse.Yes, certain cells recur, mantra-like, simulating the rhythm of the ancient epics.It is the structure of instinct.Remember, Dunsany was an unrepentent anachronist, setting down all of his flowery, wonderful inspirations with a quill.He was also an Irishman, and as such, of an apparent genetic predisposition to unspool beautifully-crafted tales.

Comparisons to Tolkien are useless, and do a grave disservice to Dunsany's art.In Tolkien you find myth; in Dunsany, fable.His writings are not writings for children, as some have suggested (although I suspect children unspoiled by too much Gameboy would enjoy them), but rather fairy stories penned for adults.One needs have lived long enough to have experienced regret, and nostalgia, of the retreat of the fantastic from the more prosaic world of "maturity," to fully appreciate the special bittersweet qualities that inform most of Dunsany's fiction.

I haven't checked if it is still in print, but those who enjoy this work should definitely try and locate a copy of "Don Rodriguez:Chronicles of Shadow Valley," as it has much in common.In fact, I find it slightly perverse for Del Rey not to have published it first, as a knowledge of "Rodriguez" enriches one's understanding of the novel under consideration.You will learn more about the bowmen, and experience further enchantment (and romance) in Dunsany's imaginative Spain.

What's more, it may be the finer book. ... Read more

Product Description
General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1918Original Publisher: The Modern librarySubjects: Fantasy fiction, EnglishFiction / AnthologiesJuvenile Nonfiction / Curiosities ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Lord Dunsaney
This book is beautiful.For over 30 years I have wanted a Lord Dunsaney book in hardcover.Thanks so much.

Wonderful stories -- terrible edition
Dunsany's stories are lyrical and meant to be read aloud to grownups in front of a fire.I am setting out to read everything he has ever written.But I would advise you to steer clear of this very poorly edited edition. There are repeating paragraphs, spelling errors, erroneous word replacements . . . all of which interfere with the beautiful rhythm of Dunsany's writing.

Wondrously
Long before "Lord of the Rings" took the world by storm, there were a handful of fantasy writers whose works were little known, but pure and untainted by other writers' works.

Lord Dunsany was one of those few writers, and "The Book of Wonder" is one of the collections of his stories -- grotesque, whimsical, humorous and solemn. Full of gods and goblins, royals and dragons, this is some of Dunsany's best-known work.

It's a mix of all kinds of fantasy tales: a man whose interest in his imaginary land eclipses the real world; a magical window that shows amazing things; suitors try to make a cold-hearted queen cry; the story of the Gibbelins, who eat "nothing less good than man"; and of Miss Cubbins and the Dragon of Romance.

Most entertaining is the tale of Chu-bu and Sheemish: idol Chu-bu is inceansed when a new idol (Sheemish) is moved into his temple. So Chu-bu and Sheemish start insulting each other. And their resulting babyish squabble has the power to level a city and destroy a civilization, and the victor doesn't exactly live on in glory....

Dunsany's fantasies aren't as vibrantly realistic as J.R.R. Tolkien's, or as pensive as C.S. Lewis's. Instead they're like fantastical, melancholy little paintings. Some are whimsical like "Miss Cubbins and the Dragon of Romance" or "Chu-Bu and Sheemish," while others are majestic and vaguely mythic, like old stories that have only recently been dug up.

His writing is lush and descriptive, but in the slightly distant style of the late nineteenth orearly twentieth century. "Night was roaming away with his cloak trailed behind him, with mists turned over and over as he went," one story goes. He handled comedy, tragedy, horror, and made-up legends with skill and imagination. And though his made-up legends and myths aren't actually in this book, you can see hints of it in some of the stories.

"The Book of Wonder" is an excellent collection of some of Dunsany's best short stories, both funny and frightening. Vivid and beautifully written, this early fantasy writer is a must-have.

Wonderful book
Long before "Lord of the Rings" took the world by storm, there were a handful of fantasy writers whose works were little known, but pure and untainted by other writers' works.

Lord Dunsany was one of those few writers, and "The Book of Wonder" is one of the collections of his stories -- grotesque, whimsical, humorous and solemn. Full of gods and goblins, royals and dragons, this is some of Dunsany's best-known work.

It's a mix of all kinds of fantasy tales: a man whose interest in his imaginary land eclipses the real world; a magical window that shows amazing things; suitors try to make a cold-hearted queen cry; the story of the Gibbelins, who eat "nothing less good than man"; and of Miss Cubbins and the Dragon of Romance.

Most entertaining is the tale of Chu-bu and Sheemish: idol Chu-bu is inceansed when a new idol (Sheemish) is moved into his temple. So Chu-bu and Sheemish start insulting each other. And their resulting babyish squabble has the power to level a city and destroy a civilization, and the victor doesn't exactly live on in glory....

Dunsany's fantasies aren't as vibrantly realistic as J.R.R. Tolkien's, or as pensive as C.S. Lewis's. Instead they're like fantastical, melancholy little paintings. Some are whimsical like "Miss Cubbins and the Dragon of Romance" or "Chu-Bu and Sheemish," while others are majestic and vaguely mythic, like old stories that have only recently been dug up.

His writing is lush and descriptive, but in the slightly distant style of the late nineteenth orearly twentieth century. "Night was roaming away with his cloak trailed behind him, with mists turned over and over as he went," one story goes. He handled comedy, tragedy, horror, and made-up legends with skill and imagination. And though his made-up legends and myths aren't actually in this book, you can see hints of it in some of the stories.

"The Book of Wonder" is an excellent collection of some of Dunsany's best short stories, both funny and frightening. Vivid and beautifully written, this early fantasy writer is a must-have.

For all practical purposes, this is only half of the book
This is the fifth collection of ironic yet gorgeous tales to be published by Lord Dunsany. Like its four predecessors, it was accompanied by equally splendid illustrations by Sidney Sime. Sime's illustrations add to each of the books in which they appear. In this book, however, where the illustrations came first and inspired most of the fourteen stories, their omission is more than a mere inconvenience. The tales remain enjoyable - as the products of early Dunsany, how could they not be? - but this edition deprives the reader of participation in the playful interaction between prose and image intended by its creators. ... Read more

Product Description
Dunsany's work, that Nature at least will recover, and that human doings will prove inconsequential in the larger scheme of things. Otherwise, these are meditations from out of Hell, by a man who has been there. Included, too is the "Dirge of Victory," which was published in the Times at the moment of the War's ending, when Dunsany, of all authors then living, was chosen to speak for the entire British nation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Unhappily far-off
If the title of "Unhappy Far-Off Things" doesn't tip you off that this is not a happy book, then the opening story will.

While Lord Dunsany is mainly known for being one of the godfathers of modern fantasy. But he also wrote a number of more serious stories, usually based on his wartime experiences. And those are the stories of "Unhappy Far-Off Things" -- stories full of ruin, sorrow, loss and heart.

In these stories, Dunsany tells of his travels through war-ruined France, where he explores wrecked churchyards where "men and women worship no more in Arras Cathedral." He tells of an old man whose historic house has been destroyed, a traveller looking for a nonexistant village, and an abandoned house that the Germans had occupied.

Then he travels to a village which has been levelled into an old battlefield, tells the story of young men at war, and walks through an abandoned garden that has flourished on its own. There are a few vignettes of soldiers in battle, and even a historic exploration of how war topples great cities and countries. "It is our own time that has ended in blood and broken bricks."

And as Dunsany leaves Arras, he reflects sadly on future generations will see this war as romantic and thrilling, rather than the horror it was. "It is not this
that is romantic, not Mars, but poor, limping Peace. It is what is left that appeals to you, with pathos and infinite charm... it is what is left that appeals to you, what remains of old peaceful things..."

It actually takes awhile to realize that this book is all about war, and in a sense, it's a sequel to "Tales of War." At one point, Dunsany muses, "This is one side of war. Mutilation and death are another; misery, cold and dirt; pain, and the intense loneliness of men left behind by armies, with much to think of; no hope, and a day or two to live."

Dunsany's writing is no less lyrical, just because he's writing (mostly) non-fiction. He lovingly describes the iron railings, ivy, flowers and wrecked cathedrals filled with trees, and his love for the city of Arras is obvious in half these stories. His writing tends to be heavy on nature, and he almost sounds pained when he describes the machinery and artillery.

In a time when war is becoming frighteningly easy, it's good to explore the ragged, sorrowful memories that are put down in "Unhappy Far-Off Things."

Sorrowful places
If the title of "Unhappy Far-Off Things" doesn't tip you off that this is not a happy book, then the opening story will.

While Lord Dunsany is mainly known for being one of the godfathers of modern fantasy. But he also wrote a number of more serious stories, usually based on his wartime experiences. And those are the stories of "Unhappy Far-Off Things" -- stories full of ruin, sorrow, loss and heart.

In these stories, Dunsany tells of his travels through war-ruined France, where he explores wrecked churchyards where "men and women worship no more in Arras Cathedral." He tells of an old man whose historic house has been destroyed, a traveller looking for a nonexistant village, and an abandoned house that the Germans had occupied.

Then he travels to a village which has been levelled into an old battlefield, tells the story of young men at war, and walks through an abandoned garden that has flourished on its own. There are a few vignettes of soldiers in battle, and even a historic exploration of how war topples great cities and countries. "It is our own time that has ended in blood and broken bricks."

And as Dunsany leaves Arras, he reflects sadly on future generations will see this war as romantic and thrilling, rather than the horror it was. "It is not this
that is romantic, not Mars, but poor, limping Peace. It is what is left that appeals to you, with pathos and infinite charm... it is what is left that appeals to you, what remains of old peaceful things..."

It actually takes awhile to realize that this book is all about war, and in a sense, it's a sequel to "Tales of War." At one point, Dunsany muses, "This is one side of war. Mutilation and death are another; misery, cold and dirt; pain, and the intense loneliness of men left behind by armies, with much to think of; no hope, and a day or two to live."

Dunsany's writing is no less lyrical, just because he's writing (mostly) non-fiction. He lovingly describes the iron railings, ivy, flowers and wrecked cathedrals filled with trees, and his love for the city of Arras is obvious in half these stories. His writing tends to be heavy on nature, and he almost sounds pained when he describes the machinery and artillery.

In a time when war is becoming frighteningly easy, it's good to explore the ragged, sorrowful memories that are put down in "Unhappy Far-Off Things."

Full of sorrows
If the title of "Unhappy Far-Off Things" doesn't tip you off that this is not a happy book, then the opening story will.

While Lord Dunsany is mainly known for being one of the godfathers of modern fantasy. But he also wrote a number of more serious stories, usually based on his wartime experiences. And those are the stories of "Unhappy Far-Off Things" -- stories full of ruin, sorrow, loss and heart.

In these stories, Dunsany tells of his travels through war-ruined France, where he explores wrecked churchyards where "men and women worship no more in Arras Cathedral." He tells of an old man whose historic house has been destroyed, a traveller looking for a nonexistant village, and an abandoned house that the Germans had occupied.

Then he travels to a village which has been levelled into an old battlefield, tells the story of young men at war, and walks through an abandoned garden that has flourished on its own. There are a few vignettes of soldiers in battle, and even a historic exploration of how war topples great cities and countries. "It is our own time that has ended in blood and broken bricks."

And as Dunsany leaves Arras, he reflects sadly on future generations will see this war as romantic and thrilling, rather than the horror it was. "It is not this
that is romantic, not Mars, but poor, limping Peace. It is what is left that appeals to you, with pathos and infinite charm... it is what is left that appeals to you, what remains of old peaceful things..."

It actually takes awhile to realize that this book is all about war, and in a sense, it's a sequel to "Tales of War." At one point, Dunsany muses, "This is one side of war. Mutilation and death are another; misery, cold and dirt; pain, and the intense loneliness of men left behind by armies, with much to think of; no hope, and a day or two to live."

Dunsany's writing is no less lyrical, just because he's writing (mostly) non-fiction. He lovingly describes the iron railings, ivy, flowers and wrecked cathedrals filled with trees, and his love for the city of Arras is obvious in half these stories. His writing tends to be heavy on nature, and he almost sounds pained when he describes the machinery and artillery.

In a time when war is becoming frighteningly easy, it's good to explore the ragged, sorrowful memories that are put down in "Unhappy Far-Off Things." ... Read more

Product Description
Short excerpt: Being convinced that his end was nearly comeand having lived long on earth (and all those years in Spainin the golden time)the Lord of the Valleys of Arguento Harezwhose heights see not Valladolidcalled for his eldest son. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Rich writing and swashbuckling plot
This is the first novel by Lord Dunsany (aka Edward JMD Plunkett), a turn of the 19th/20th century author who was a pioneer in what was to become the genre of "Fantasy".His writing is some of the richest, most beautiful English I've ever read and his novels are a treasure for that reason alone.He also has an insight and storytelling skill that rates his writing as "literature" - much more so than all but the best fantasy authors (such as Ursula LeGuin).
That being said, this novel is notable for being a little more "fun" than his high fantasy that follows - it has a lot of humor and derring-do in it and is somewhat reminiscent of Dumas's "Three Musketeers" in that element.I don't think I've ever laughed so hard while reading such excellent prose!The plot revolves around the adventures of a young Spanish gentleman, who not being the eldest son will not inherit his father's property must seek his own fortune.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys Dumas, Stevenson, "The Princess Bride", or Zorro! ... Read more

Product Description
Lord Dunsany’s crystalline prose and fantastic imaginings have ranked him with Tolkien and Mervyn Peake, and his admirers included H. P. Lovecraft, who went through a "Dunsany phase" in his own writing. A century after his heyday, this prolific author continues to delight and transport in this short-story collection. The selection here showcases the wide range of Dunsany’s talent, whether he’s weaving fanciful tales of strange adventure in imaginary locales ("Idle Days on the Yann") or depicting grim visions of otherworldiness ("The Exiles Club"). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

dream fantasy at it's best
This collection ranges from new takes on 1001 Arabian Nights to pastoral English dreams.Lord Dunsany remains one of the formost modern fantasy writers.

In the Ruined Temple, at Dusk
The world is still haunted, and there are yet gods in the wild places.

The gods abide, grim and wicked and gentle and brooding, in our forlorn, crazed, forsaken world. In the still of a country night you can feel them, pressing close on the wind: the forlorn gods who whisper about the crumbling hillside shrines. The nautical, bloodthirsty gods of the tropic Deep, who rose out of sea-slug haunted temples in the Pacific to feast on the anguish of Captain Cook's sacrificed sailors. The lonely gods of the abandoned wastes, bereaved for worshippers and curses that once worked but now, like dying tapers, gutter and go out.

Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany, had magic in his fingers and a suspiciously lucid familiarity with the Gate of Sleep and the Real of Dreams. Some of his most powerful and affecting gems are displayed in "The Hashish Man", an indifferently bound but decidedly choice collection of his short tales of fancy, wild whimsy, the fantastic, bizarre, and strange.

In the 26 tales collected here, not one fails to astound, to awe, to move, to raise the hackles. Dunsany is a masterful author: what most writers would take thousand-page volumes to do, he can achieve in a few graceful sentences.

And the tales themselves: for instance, what could make ancient, fearful Charon, the ferryman of the Styx, smile and weep? Or what of the young Lord in London, who orders a table set for two, spends the night in conversation with an invisible companion, and caps off his meal with an astounding dessert?

You'll learn of the piratical Captain Shard and his freebooting crew of the Desperate Lark, who, pursued by the bristling galleons of the Danish, French, Spaniards and English, affix wheels and axles to their ship and steer her across the African sands to the Atlantic.

Or you can shiver to the tale of the Doom that came to the shadow-haunted wizard's tower of Thlunrana, or to the account of the feral man roaming the English wilds with his Three Deadly Jokes; or the weird marble goddess to which ships pray---their figureheads muttering heathen verses---at the Temple of the Sea, whence they steer when all the sailors are drunk and slumbering; you'll hear of fabled, many-spired Bethmoora, abandoned in a day, and of imperial Perdondaris, which celebrated its Great Ivory Gate made of the vast tooth of a fearsome beast, until the beast came looking for its fang.

These are not just tales you'll read and consign to memory: there is not a page here lacking a gnome's treasure of wonder, and glory, and deep, dreadful fear, tinged always with melancholy, and a surprising gentleness, and perhaps a whiff of regret.

Dunsany is certainly a wizard. He wields, with dangerous precision, the totemic power of the printed word, ever a double-edged sword. There has never been a writer on Earth who conjured up the fantastic, the haunted, the doomed and the damned like Lord Dunsany.

If his sorcery-infused writings, heavy with the aroma of deep sleep, were traded in the bazaars of his tales, a single page might bring a wagon-load of precious spice, or a vat of deadly nightshade or darksome myrrh, or a trunk of gold. If I had to, I would willingly trade half the libraries of Christendom and Araby for a single volume of Lord Dunsany.

So read on, savor and relish these tales of madness, and doom, and desolation, and irrevocable curses, and wanton cruelty, and wildness: drink deep of the draught, but beware---there is potent magic here.

There may indeed be gods, and if there are, Dunsany was their Prophet and Oracle: Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany and Votary of the Strange. May they sing dreams of comfort and wonder to him, as he sings from the pages to us.

JSG

Tales of the dreamer
Lord Dunsany's works are gradually coming back into print, a great relief to someone who has liked his works for a long time. The pre-Tolkien fantasy authors are too often neglected because of their different style, but any person who appreciates beautiful language will appreciate Dunsany's unique fantasies.

This includes such stories as "Charon," a brief story about the ferryman of the dead; the rather odd "Three Infernal Jokes"; "The Guest," about a young man who launches into a strange monologue; "Thirteen at Table," about a strange house and a fox-hunt; "Three Sailors' Gambit" is somewhat more prosaic, the tale of three sailors in a pub; "The Exiles' Club" is the story of a sumptuous but somehow strange and sinister house in London; "Where the Tides Ebb and Flow" is a dream -- and a darn disturbing one at that, where a young man dreams that "I had done a horrible thing, so that burial was to be denied me either in soil or sea, neither could there be any hell for me"; "The Field" is at first mysterious and then saddening, where someone visits a beautiful field where he senses something terrible; "A Tale of London," where a sultan asks his hashish-eater to tell him about the far-off city of London; "Narrow Escape" tells what occurs when an evil magician decides to obliterate London; "Bethmoora" is the reminiscences of an exotic city that no longer exists; "Hashish Man" is something of a sequel to "Bethmoora," in which a man tells the narrator about how he uses hashish to travel to the city of Bethmoora. "How An Enemy Came to Thlunrana" is how a mighty wizards' citadel was overcome by an unexpected means; "In Zaccarath" is the story of a mighty, beautiful, and seemingly everlasting city and its king; "Idle City" is a very odd one, about a polytheistic/monotheistic city, now very lonely-looking; "The Madness of Andelsprutz" is another story about a "dead" city, in which the narrator is told how a certain city became "soulless".

"Secret of the Sea" is about a very sad sailor; "Idle Days on the Yann" is exactly what it sounds like, a pleasantly plotless but beautifully written story about sailing on the mythical Yann River; "A Tale of the Equator" is about the foreseeing of a magnificent city; "Spring in Town" is about the arrival of a season; "In the Twilight" is the beautifully-written vision of a man whose boat had capsized; "Wind and Fog" is a slightly odd little story about the North Wind and some fog; "A Story of Land and Sea" is the sequel to a story in Book of Wonder, more about Captain Shard; "After the Fire" is what happens when a dark star collides with the world, and what other creatures see in man's temples; "Assignation," the last story in the collection, is about what a poet and Fame have to say to one another.

As for this edition: I must agree with the previous reviewer who commented on the lame cover and unfortunate title, as well as the fact that the binding could be better. That's why it rates four out of a potential five stars. I will also warn buyers that several of these stories appear in other anthologies, so don't be surprised if you bump into things you already have. Many are from the "Last Book of Wonder" or "Dreamer's Tales" and overall they tend to the less fantastical stories.

Dunsany's prose tends to be dreamy, lush, and unabashed in its Eastern tone. There's no starkness here. Despite the title of the collection, there is minimal drug use and it is definitely not recommended by Dunsany's works. His story vary widely in range, but this is an excellent collection and well worth finding.

A terrific collection of obscure gems
While I'm not a die-hard fan of fantasy and science fiction, I reallyliked this collection of short stories, which transcend the usualdefinitions of the genre. Unlike some readers who believe that obscureliterary gems like these tales should be hallowed in the dusty stacks oflibraries, I salute the publisher who has made these amazing worksavailable again - I certainly would have never stumbled upon this bookotherwise! Edgy like Lovecraft (whom I adore), these stories reflect asense of wonder and imagination that is often missing from the fiction oftoday - a great read, highly recommended!

5 Stars for Lord Dunsany and0 for the Publisher
I have just received this book in the mail and I am sending it back on Monday. For one thing, the materials this book is constructed out of are very cheap. The cover picture is made with an off-the-shelf 3D graphicsprogram and done in a very amateurish manner. The title "The HashishMan" was chosen purely to attract what the publishers thought of as a"hip" target audience and smacks at Lord Dunsany's sober genius.Lord Dunsany never took drugs and one would know where he got hisinspiration if they read any books about him. Of course, because our timesproduce writers of infertile minds we automatically assume he had to havebeen on a drug to write these beautiful and imaginative stories. Thepublishers are associating Lord Dunsany with "the Hashish Man",the title of this anthology, when in fact in his (fictional) short storyLord Dunsany is approached by the "Hashish Man" who relates toLord Dunsany how HE travels to dream worlds (via hashish) which is incontrast with Lord Dunsany.

Besides trashing Lord Dunsany's characterthe introduction is a bad two-page college essay written by a person who istotally unknown. Who is Jon Longhi of San Francisco? Here are a fewpathetic quotes by Mr. Longhi: Describing Lord Dunsany's writing, "Attimes these details veer toward the noisome realm of elves andhobbits". The "realm of elves and hobbits" is only"noisome" because the publishers think that readers of H.P.Lovecraft don't like fantasy writing and that Tolkien is not popular rightnow. However when Ballantine Books published "The King Of Elfland'sDaughter" in 1977, when Tolkien was the flavor of the month withpublishers, they boasted "A fantasy novel in a class with the Tolkienbooks!," which ever way the wind blows I guess. Another quote:"psychedelic rave-up of language and imagery...it's great fun ridingon the hallucinations." More drug association. "Captain Shardpilots a boat which sails across the desert on huge wheels, just like themain vehicle in the movie Time Bandits." Doesn't this sound childish?What main vehicle in Time Bandits?The only thing with sails in thatmovie was the ship on the giant's head, but it did not have wheels. Mr.Longhi might be thinking of the building with sails traversing barrenwastelands manned by the intrepid crew of the Crimson Assurance Co. in themini-movie before Monty Python's Meaning of Life.

Either this guy is anabsolute idiot or he is just failing miserably to convince me that he isreally anything like the people he is trying to reach. Mr. Longhi, likesome desperate college sophomore, has padded out his introduction with avariety of multi-syllabic words in the hopes of impressing the average(ignorant) reader. This introduction should be in an anthology ofdrugstore-swords & sorcery-escapist-self-indulgent-trash.

I knowthat anthologies of Lord Dunsany's writings are rare but I would ratherhave them rare and cherishable instead of common and degraded. Mostlibraries have some of Lord Dunsany's works and through interlibrary loanyou should be able to get just about anything written by this laudablefantasist. Do not pollute your personal library with this trash. Let us notreduce Lord Dunsany to the level of pulp. Let us not patronize publishersthat drag remarkable writers down to their seedy level so they can make aneasy buck. We need to have more respect. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Mythlore, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2006. The length of the article is 5049 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Lord Dunsany and the Great War: Don Rodriguez and the rebirth of romance.(Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett Dunsany's Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley)(Critical essay)
Author: David J. Carlson
Publication: Mythlore (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 25Issue: 1-2Page: 93(12)

Article Type: Critical essay

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1915. This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
Lord Dunsany’s crystalline prose and fantastic imaginings have ranked him with Tolkien and Mervyn Peake, and his admirers included H. P. Lovecraft, who went through a "Dunsany phase" in his own writing. A century after his heyday, this prolific author continues to delight and transport in this short-story collection. The selection here showcases the wide range of Dunsany’s talent, whether he’s weaving fanciful tales of strange adventure in imaginary locales ("Idle Days on the Yann") or depicting grim visions of otherworldiness ("The Exiles Club"). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

dream fantasy at it's best
This collection ranges from new takes on 1001 Arabian Nights to pastoral English dreams.Lord Dunsany remains one of the formost modern fantasy writers.

In the Ruined Temple, at Dusk
The world is still haunted, and there are yet gods in the wild places.

The gods abide, grim and wicked and gentle and brooding, in our forlorn, crazed, forsaken world. In the still of a country night you can feel them, pressing close on the wind: the forlorn gods who whisper about the crumbling hillside shrines. The nautical, bloodthirsty gods of the tropic Deep, who rose out of sea-slug haunted temples in the Pacific to feast on the anguish of Captain Cook's sacrificed sailors. The lonely gods of the abandoned wastes, bereaved for worshippers and curses that once worked but now, like dying tapers, gutter and go out.

Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany, had magic in his fingers and a suspiciously lucid familiarity with the Gate of Sleep and the Real of Dreams. Some of his most powerful and affecting gems are displayed in "The Hashish Man", an indifferently bound but decidedly choice collection of his short tales of fancy, wild whimsy, the fantastic, bizarre, and strange.

In the 26 tales collected here, not one fails to astound, to awe, to move, to raise the hackles. Dunsany is a masterful author: what most writers would take thousand-page volumes to do, he can achieve in a few graceful sentences.

And the tales themselves: for instance, what could make ancient, fearful Charon, the ferryman of the Styx, smile and weep? Or what of the young Lord in London, who orders a table set for two, spends the night in conversation with an invisible companion, and caps off his meal with an astounding dessert?

You'll learn of the piratical Captain Shard and his freebooting crew of the Desperate Lark, who, pursued by the bristling galleons of the Danish, French, Spaniards and English, affix wheels and axles to their ship and steer her across the African sands to the Atlantic.

Or you can shiver to the tale of the Doom that came to the shadow-haunted wizard's tower of Thlunrana, or to the account of the feral man roaming the English wilds with his Three Deadly Jokes; or the weird marble goddess to which ships pray---their figureheads muttering heathen verses---at the Temple of the Sea, whence they steer when all the sailors are drunk and slumbering; you'll hear of fabled, many-spired Bethmoora, abandoned in a day, and of imperial Perdondaris, which celebrated its Great Ivory Gate made of the vast tooth of a fearsome beast, until the beast came looking for its fang.

These are not just tales you'll read and consign to memory: there is not a page here lacking a gnome's treasure of wonder, and glory, and deep, dreadful fear, tinged always with melancholy, and a surprising gentleness, and perhaps a whiff of regret.

Dunsany is certainly a wizard. He wields, with dangerous precision, the totemic power of the printed word, ever a double-edged sword. There has never been a writer on Earth who conjured up the fantastic, the haunted, the doomed and the damned like Lord Dunsany.

If his sorcery-infused writings, heavy with the aroma of deep sleep, were traded in the bazaars of his tales, a single page might bring a wagon-load of precious spice, or a vat of deadly nightshade or darksome myrrh, or a trunk of gold. If I had to, I would willingly trade half the libraries of Christendom and Araby for a single volume of Lord Dunsany.

So read on, savor and relish these tales of madness, and doom, and desolation, and irrevocable curses, and wanton cruelty, and wildness: drink deep of the draught, but beware---there is potent magic here.

There may indeed be gods, and if there are, Dunsany was their Prophet and Oracle: Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany and Votary of the Strange. May they sing dreams of comfort and wonder to him, as he sings from the pages to us.

JSG

Tales of the dreamer
Lord Dunsany's works are gradually coming back into print, a great relief to someone who has liked his works for a long time. The pre-Tolkien fantasy authors are too often neglected because of their different style, but any person who appreciates beautiful language will appreciate Dunsany's unique fantasies.

This includes such stories as "Charon," a brief story about the ferryman of the dead; the rather odd "Three Infernal Jokes"; "The Guest," about a young man who launches into a strange monologue; "Thirteen at Table," about a strange house and a fox-hunt; "Three Sailors' Gambit" is somewhat more prosaic, the tale of three sailors in a pub; "The Exiles' Club" is the story of a sumptuous but somehow strange and sinister house in London; "Where the Tides Ebb and Flow" is a dream -- and a darn disturbing one at that, where a young man dreams that "I had done a horrible thing, so that burial was to be denied me either in soil or sea, neither could there be any hell for me"; "The Field" is at first mysterious and then saddening, where someone visits a beautiful field where he senses something terrible; "A Tale of London," where a sultan asks his hashish-eater to tell him about the far-off city of London; "Narrow Escape" tells what occurs when an evil magician decides to obliterate London; "Bethmoora" is the reminiscences of an exotic city that no longer exists; "Hashish Man" is something of a sequel to "Bethmoora," in which a man tells the narrator about how he uses hashish to travel to the city of Bethmoora. "How An Enemy Came to Thlunrana" is how a mighty wizards' citadel was overcome by an unexpected means; "In Zaccarath" is the story of a mighty, beautiful, and seemingly everlasting city and its king; "Idle City" is a very odd one, about a polytheistic/monotheistic city, now very lonely-looking; "The Madness of Andelsprutz" is another story about a "dead" city, in which the narrator is told how a certain city became "soulless".

"Secret of the Sea" is about a very sad sailor; "Idle Days on the Yann" is exactly what it sounds like, a pleasantly plotless but beautifully written story about sailing on the mythical Yann River; "A Tale of the Equator" is about the foreseeing of a magnificent city; "Spring in Town" is about the arrival of a season; "In the Twilight" is the beautifully-written vision of a man whose boat had capsized; "Wind and Fog" is a slightly odd little story about the North Wind and some fog; "A Story of Land and Sea" is the sequel to a story in Book of Wonder, more about Captain Shard; "After the Fire" is what happens when a dark star collides with the world, and what other creatures see in man's temples; "Assignation," the last story in the collection, is about what a poet and Fame have to say to one another.

As for this edition: I must agree with the previous reviewer who commented on the lame cover and unfortunate title, as well as the fact that the binding could be better. That's why it rates four out of a potential five stars. I will also warn buyers that several of these stories appear in other anthologies, so don't be surprised if you bump into things you already have. Many are from the "Last Book of Wonder" or "Dreamer's Tales" and overall they tend to the less fantastical stories.

Dunsany's prose tends to be dreamy, lush, and unabashed in its Eastern tone. There's no starkness here. Despite the title of the collection, there is minimal drug use and it is definitely not recommended by Dunsany's works. His story vary widely in range, but this is an excellent collection and well worth finding.

A terrific collection of obscure gems
While I'm not a die-hard fan of fantasy and science fiction, I reallyliked this collection of short stories, which transcend the usualdefinitions of the genre. Unlike some readers who believe that obscureliterary gems like these tales should be hallowed in the dusty stacks oflibraries, I salute the publisher who has made these amazing worksavailable again - I certainly would have never stumbled upon this bookotherwise! Edgy like Lovecraft (whom I adore), these stories reflect asense of wonder and imagination that is often missing from the fiction oftoday - a great read, highly recommended!

5 Stars for Lord Dunsany and0 for the Publisher
I have just received this book in the mail and I am sending it back on Monday. For one thing, the materials this book is constructed out of are very cheap. The cover picture is made with an off-the-shelf 3D graphicsprogram and done in a very amateurish manner. The title "The HashishMan" was chosen purely to attract what the publishers thought of as a"hip" target audience and smacks at Lord Dunsany's sober genius.Lord Dunsany never took drugs and one would know where he got hisinspiration if they read any books about him. Of course, because our timesproduce writers of infertile minds we automatically assume he had to havebeen on a drug to write these beautiful and imaginative stories. Thepublishers are associating Lord Dunsany with "the Hashish Man",the title of this anthology, when in fact in his (fictional) short storyLord Dunsany is approached by the "Hashish Man" who relates toLord Dunsany how HE travels to dream worlds (via hashish) which is incontrast with Lord Dunsany.

Besides trashing Lord Dunsany's characterthe introduction is a bad two-page college essay written by a person who istotally unknown. Who is Jon Longhi of San Francisco? Here are a fewpathetic quotes by Mr. Longhi: Describing Lord Dunsany's writing, "Attimes these details veer toward the noisome realm of elves andhobbits". The "realm of elves and hobbits" is only"noisome" because the publishers think that readers of H.P.Lovecraft don't like fantasy writing and that Tolkien is not popular rightnow. However when Ballantine Books published "The King Of Elfland'sDaughter" in 1977, when Tolkien was the flavor of the month withpublishers, they boasted "A fantasy novel in a class with the Tolkienbooks!," which ever way the wind blows I guess. Another quote:"psychedelic rave-up of language and imagery...it's great fun ridingon the hallucinations." More drug association. "Captain Shardpilots a boat which sails across the desert on huge wheels, just like themain vehicle in the movie Time Bandits." Doesn't this sound childish?What main vehicle in Time Bandits?The only thing with sails in thatmovie was the ship on the giant's head, but it did not have wheels. Mr.Longhi might be thinking of the building with sails traversing barrenwastelands manned by the intrepid crew of the Crimson Assurance Co. in themini-movie before Monty Python's Meaning of Life.

Either this guy is anabsolute idiot or he is just failing miserably to convince me that he isreally anything like the people he is trying to reach. Mr. Longhi, likesome desperate college sophomore, has padded out his introduction with avariety of multi-syllabic words in the hopes of impressing the average(ignorant) reader. This introduction should be in an anthology ofdrugstore-swords & sorcery-escapist-self-indulgent-trash.

I knowthat anthologies of Lord Dunsany's writings are rare but I would ratherhave them rare and cherishable instead of common and degraded. Mostlibraries have some of Lord Dunsany's works and through interlibrary loanyou should be able to get just about anything written by this laudablefantasist. Do not pollute your personal library with this trash. Let us notreduce Lord Dunsany to the level of pulp. Let us not patronize publishersthat drag remarkable writers down to their seedy level so they can make aneasy buck. We need to have more respect. ... Read more

Product Description
Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Two good plays
This book has 4 plays written between 1910 and 1913. There's no table of contents- the plays are, in order, The Laughter of the Gods, The Queen's Enemies, The Tents of the Arabs and A Night at an Inn. The first 3 plays are set in Arabic lands- the location names may all be made up since I haven't heard of any of them before. The last play takes place in India. The gods in the book's title don't take part in the plays, they're more like an unseen presence who affect what is going on. The plays are very short and don't take long to read. I liked the 3rd play best, and the 2nd play second best. The last play isn't worth much. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wielding the "Sword"
It's been almost a century since the "Sword of Welleran" collection was first published, compiling the title novella with other stories by early fantasy writer Lord Dunsany. Now finally this collection is back in print, and new readers can get acquainted with Dunsany's elaborate prose and otherworldly plotlines.

The title novella is a robust story written in a delicate style -- it takes place in the city of Merimna, "a marvel of spires and figures of bronze, and marble fountains, and trophies of fabulous wars, and broad streets given over wholly to the Beautiful." It's a city that proudly remembers its mysterious heroes and past victories.

When the hero Welleran is killed, nobody can quite believe it. But he is dead, and when the dead hero finds that he is "but dreams," he decides to haunt a young sleeping leader named Rold, in the hopes that young Rold will take his (Welleran's) sword and attack their enemies.

In the other stories, Dunsany spins stories about the exotic city of Babbulkund, and how it was destroyed, about the exquisite dancing "Kith of the Elf Folk," about the death of Tom the highwayman and the three men who are having some fun with graves, the Book of Magicians, natural disasters having a chitchat, a hero pursuing a monster, and some of the most frightening ghosts imaginable.

Dunsany was one of the few fantasy authors who wrote before Tolkien, and his stories are still striking in their originality and beauty. Most fantasy writers just churn out bad quest novels of at least six hundred pages. Not so with Dunsany, whose stories are as exquisite as they are short, and whose stories about elves and brave heroes never seem cliched.

Except for the odd mention of pharoahs and archbishops, these stories could almost take place in another universe. Dunsany spins up elaborate pictures of cities that never existed and fairy creatures, without seeming trite. Instead, it feels like a book of lost legends, deities, history and myths that has just been dug up again.

His writing is almost as lovely as his world-building. At times it can be a bit formal, but not to the point where it seems rigid or bloodless ("Evening stole up out of mysterious lands and came down on the streets of Paris..."). He lavishes loving detail and quiet grace, even on the grotesque "sins" sitting in the laps of ghosts. Even the cutesy "Hurricane" is beautifully written, and has a poignant depth.

Lord Dunsany's "Sword of Welleran and Other Tales" is one of his most entrancing books, without a single dud story in the entire collection. An exquisite read. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Fantasy / General; Fiction / Fantasy / Epic; Fiction / Fantasy / Short Stories; Fiction / Horror; Fiction / Short Stories; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

"Time" is on your side
"These tales are of the things that befell gods and men in Yarnith, Averon, and Zarkandhu, and in the other countries of my dreams." No better summary can be given than this, a hint at what's ahead. "Time and the Gods" is best described as a collection of invented myths, dreamed up by fantasy pioneer Lord Dunsany.

In it, you will find tales of Slid, an upstart young god; the Dawnchild, who loses her golden ball, but ends up creating the Sun; the hideous Pestilence; Time and how it could overthrow even what the gods favored -- making it more powerful than the gods; laughter, prophecies, doom and hope, punishment, heroes, night and day, gods and human beings.

J.R.R. Tolkien is often credited with creating the fantasy genre as we know it. But Dunsany was one of the handful of fantasy writers who came first -- even creating mythical gods, cities, heroes and legends before Tolkien penned the Silmarillion. As a result, his stories are refreshingly original and untainted by any other writer's work.

Dunsany wrote enchantingly in this book. His prose is majestic and lush in manner, which may scare off people who prefer lighter reads. This isn't something that can be skimmed, like the Bible or the Iliad can't be skimmed. They're too complex, and too rich. Dunsany had an exquisite manner of writing, and he never skimps on lush details and beautiful descriptions.

Fans of classic fantasy -- or readers looking for something fresh and thoroughly cliche-free -- might enjoy "Time and the Gods," with Dunsany's rich writing and imagination.

"Time" is on your side
"These tales are of the things that befell gods and men in Yarnith, Averon, and Zarkandhu, and in the other countries of my dreams." No better summary can be given than this. "Time and the Gods" is best described as a collection of invented myths, dreamed up by fantasy pioneer Lord Dunsany.

In it, you will find tales of Slid, an upstart young god; the Dawnchild, who loses her golden ball; the hideous Pestilence; Time and how it overthrew even what the gods favored; laughter, prophecies, doom and hope, punishment, night and day, gods and human beings.

As usual, he wrote enchantingly in this book. His prose is somewhat biblical in manner, which may scare off people who prefer lighter reads. This isn't something you can really skim, as you can't skim the Mabinogion, the Iliad, or the Eddas. Dunsany had an exquisite manner of writing, and he never skimps on lush details and beautiful descriptions.

Fans of classic fantasy -- or readers looking for something fresh and without cliches -- will thoroughly enjoy this collection of ethereal tales. A wonderful read. ... Read more