Alfred, Lord Dunsany

Another one of the founding fathers of modern fantasy, Lord Dunsany is perhaps best known for his lyrical prose and haunting images. A must for any fantasy scholar!

The Charwoman's Shadow
The King of Elfland's Daughter

Literary Quality:
Christian Morality: Excellent/Good
Age Appropriateness: Pre-Teen

Both books deal with questions of what magic, fantasy, Elfland, etc., are in themselves, apart from their interactions with the 'mundane' world. Both also deal with the mysteries that DO belong to the mundane world (both are eloquent on the mystery of the written word, for example), and with possible consequences when people turn from 'the fields that we know' to look towards magic, for whatever reason. Both are centered around distant (in time and place) but very real characters whose loves, fears, customs, and desires, drive the plots forward. Both have a strong descriptive sense of place, be it Aragona in Spain's Golden Age, the Valley of Erl with its lord, or Elfland itself. Of the two, The Charwoman's Shadow might be more open to younger audiences in terms of plot, although the language might be difficult -- possibly a good read-aloud book. Morally both books are soundly rooted, which gives good ground for branching out into questions of how magic and Elfland might be related to God and salvation. ( The Charwoman's Shadow has a powerful description of a magician who prefers to walk flaming in Hell, with lesser magicians bowing in the cinders before him, rather than share in the 'common lot' of Heaven.) Structurally neither book is a 'typical' story; the beginnings and endings and permutations are unexpected and sometimes almost arbitrary, but no less good for that. The language and descriptions are beautiful, woven through with a natural 'sense of wonder' that fantasy, or any fiction, is popularly supposed to have.

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Updated 22 July, 2007
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