The King of Elfland’s Daughter, by Lord Dunsany.
A new, upgraded copy, with an Introduction by Neil Gaiman
(his “Stardust” was very influenced this book). Otherwise, see the entry under
the paperback.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Novel. Softcover.
The Circus of Dr. Lao, by Charles G. Finney
“The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao” was one of my favorite movies of
a kid, and its message about the wonder of life and how it challenges the drab
outlook on the world. I read the book in the college library, and then spent
years looking for a copy (no one who has one parts with it, apparently), then
finally found one. Illustrations by Boris Artzybaheff. Part of that 30’s social
satire trend (like Cabell or Thorne Smith) that was knocked out for a while by
WWII, when the unexciting, commonplace life of the small town didn’t seem to be
such a given anymore. That it was now threatened revealed a quality of romance
and precious fragility that it always has but needs dark shadows – or in time
of peace, fantasy – to bring out. The question remains, however: was it a
Russian or a bear?
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Satire. Softcover.
The Complete Pegana, by Lord Dunsany. Edited and Introduced
by S. T. Joshi.
A part of the reprint publishing by Chaosium, a game producer
with a Cthulhu product, of work connected to Lovecraft. It gathers all the
Pegana stories into one volume. S. T. Joshi is the most recent go-to scholar on
Lovecraft.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Fantasy. Anthology. Softcover.
Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic
Fantasy, by L. Sprague de Camp.
I first read this book in the college library, back when I
wasn’t very aware of de Camp or Arkham House, which published it. For a while
de Camp was a big honcho in what was then mostly termed “sword and sorcery”; he
wrote dozens of books and was a wheel in the Society for Creative Anachronism.
Now most of his work is as dust. Still, this book is a good look at the lives
and works of the major writers of Fantasy as of 1976, with illustrations and
pictures of the authors seldom seen at that time. A “manly man” of scientific
bent, de Camp often seems judgmental about problems he didn’t have or opinions
he could not share. Just look at HIS picture on the jacket, and if you have
lived in the 70’s you can read only too well his type. I am proud to own at
least this late product of the fabled Arkham House press.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Literary History. Hardback.
Irish Earth Folk, by Diarmuid Mac Manus.
Illustrated with line drawings and with some photos. “In
Memory of My Loved and Revered Friend, the late WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS.” Fairy
lore, with, as you can imagine, a bit of the Celtic Twilight and Spiritualism
sprinkled in. I used to read this book at the public library at least once a
summer as a kid. “Fairies are real, they’re not all safe and twinkly, and
here’s proof.” Of a piece with my interest in UFOs or Bigfoot or other strange
phenomena. So happy to find a copy since the library has retired theirs.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Legend. Occult. Hardback.
A Family Book of Nursery Rhymes, Edited by Iona and Peter
Opie. Illustrations by Pauline Baynes.
Got for the Baynes illustrations; that it was put together
and has scholarly notes by the famous authorities on children’s literature is
cake.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Nursery Rhymes. Hardback.
Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction, by Tom Raabe.
A hilarious examination of the bibliophile’s dilemma, his
compulsive nature, and famous book-collectors through history. I was certainly
once caught in the rage of that book-lust, and while I think I can say I have
overcome it to a certain degree, I still show pronounced traces of the disease
(as this Inventory itself goes to prove). Some indifferent illustrations.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Wry Examination. Softcover.
Penguin Island, by Anatole France. Illustrated by Frank C.
Pape.
Bought solely for the Pape illustrations, but I must admit
that I found a spot of political satire here and there that was very droll.
After his work for Cabell, Pape had a good run of illustrating famous
“scurrilous” old classics that wouldn’t move a pulse these days, and France’s
books were among them. The particular shade of purple of the cover leads me to
think this was reprinted in the 70’s, and its nearly pristine condition that it
wasn’t read very often.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Satire. Fantasy. Softcover.
Wizardry and Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy, by
Michael Moorcock.
Not so much a study as a collection of essays and articles.
Moorcock is that annoying and querulous “expert” in your field whose enormous
knowledge seems to be only matched by his completely perverse misunderstanding
of it. Not a man for delicate shades or noble aspirations, you get the feeling
that he wonders why he is not worshipped quite as much as Tolkien and that the
only answer to that is that most people are dolts. Moorcock would be in the
ash-heap with other “sword-and-sorcery” writers if Tolkien had not elevated the
field, and his contrarian opinions (which have the hardihood to disagree with
mine) sometimes appear to be expressed only to stir up controversy and thereby
an illusion of relevance for his own work. Still, he’s discussing Fantasy, gosh
darn it, is a fan of the genre, and he gives me something to sharpen my own
rhetoric and opinions on.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Literary Criticism. Fantasy. Softcover.
Apostle of Letters: The Life and Works of Lin Carter, Edited
by Stephen J. Servello
Probably the closest we’ll get to a biography of Lin Carter.
“Lin Carter played a major role in the introduction of Fantasy into popular
culture, both as author and as editor of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series …
undeniability an important figure in the history in the 20th Century
fantasy.” – from the back of the book. Sad to hear about the illness and
poverty that dogged his final years after all his work. Essays and articles.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Biography. Softcover.
The Pyrates, by George MacDonald Fraser.
“Written in an arch, ironic style and containing a great deal
of deliberate anachronism, it traces the adventures of a classic hero (Captain
Benjamin Avery, RN, very loosely based on Henry Avery), multiple damsels in distress, and
the six captains who lead the infamous Coast
Brotherhood (Calico
Jack Rackham, Black
Bilbo, Firebeard, Happy Dan Pew, Akbar the Terrible and Sheba the She-Wolf). It
also concerns the charismatic anti-hero, Colonel Thomas Blood (cashiered), a
rakish dastard who is loosely modeled on the historical figure, Thomas Blood. All of the above face off against
the malevolently hilarious Spanish viceroy of Cartagena, Don Lardo.” –
Wikipedia. Fraser wrote the scripts for the entertaining Musketeer movies of my
youth, and this tribute to the pirate film is like them, both heroic and
comedic. I had a softcover, which I gave to Kenny. I liked that other cover
better.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Adventure. Novel. Hardback.
The Shadow-Walkers: Jacob Grimm’s Mythology of the Monstrous,
Edited by Tom Shippey.
“Elves and dwarves, trolls and giants, talking dragons,
valkyries and werewolves: all these are familiar in modern movies and
commercial fantasy. But where did the concepts come from? Who invented them?
Almost two centuries ago, Jacob Grimm assembled what was known about such
creatures in his work on 'Teutonic Mythology', which brought together ancient
texts such as Beowulf and the Elder Edda with the material found in Grimm's own
famous collection of fairy-tales. This collection of essays now updates Grimm,
adding much material not known in his time, and also challenges his monolithic
interpretations, pointing out the diversity of cultural traditions as well as the
continuity of ancient myth.” – from the blurb on the back. Tom Shippey is of
course the great English scholar and expert on Tolkien. Tolkien’s shadow is
never very far away in these essays.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Mythology. Literature. Hardback.
“The Crock of Gold is one of those wild,
individual fantasies that were produced before writers decided to get stuck in
the furrow that Tolkien had plowed. Hard to describe; it involves a boy and a
girl, a philosopher who is an expert on everything but real life, the god Pan,
leprechauns, some policemen, and the old gods of Ireland. Concerns humor,
adventure, love, and the heart's true calling. And a crock of gold.” This was
also one of those summer reads I came back to again and again at the public
library. I was delighted when I finally found a more or less exact copy.
Illustrations by Thomas Mackenzie.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Novel. Hardback.
No comments:
Post a Comment