Author : S. T. Joshi
Publisher : Studies in Supernatural Literature
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 19,82 MB
Release : 2013
Category :
ISBN : 9780810892347
This collection of new essays and reprints of significant articles provides a comprehensive picture of Lord Dunsany's contribution to fantasy fiction and world literature. These essays make a case for the continued study of this neglected but hugely influential writer.
Author : S. T. Joshi
Publisher : Praeger
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 11,64 MB
Release : 1995-03-23
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN :
The Irish writer Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) has suffered a regrettable decline in critical esteem. Although one of the most popular and critically acclaimed writers of the early 20th century, he seems to have fallen out of fashion with both the Irish critical community and with enthusiasts of fantasy literature. But Dunsany was one of the critical figures in modern fantasy, a significant influence on Tolkien, Le Guin, and other writers. His own work, written over a 50-year span and covering nearly every literary mode (short story, novel, play, essay, poem), is itself rich with meaning. In this, the first academic study of Dunsany's work, Joshi establishes that Dunsany has a remarkable grasp of the symbolic function of fantasy, and that he used fantasy, horror, and the supernatural as metaphors for his most deeply held convictions on life and society. His entire work is unified by a single overriding theme—the need for human reunification with the natural world—even though this theme takes on many different forms (e.g., scorn of industrialization, demonstration of the moral superiority of animals over human beings, rumination on the extinction of the human race). The course of Dunsany's long career—proceeding from early short stories and plays about the edge of the world to full-length novels to tales of comic fantasy (such as the popular Jorkens stories) to sensitive works about Ireland—reveals a writer constantly searching for new ways to express his central philosophic and aesthetic conceptions. Joshi's volume may best be described as an exercise in literary excavation—an attempt to unearth an unjustly forgotten writer and to show that his work is in need of further study and analysis.
Author : Lord Dunsany
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 436 pages
File Size : 15,25 MB
Release : 2004-02-24
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780142437766
A new edition of the Fantasy Tales that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft A pioneer in the realm of imaginative literature, Lord Dunsany has gained a cult following for his influence on modern fantasy literature, including such authors as J.R.R. Tolkien and H. P. Lovecraft. This unique collection of short stories ranges over five decades of work. Liberal selections of earlier tales—including the entire Gods of Pegana as well as such notable works as "Idle Days of the Yann" and "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth"—are followed by memorable later tales, including several about the garrulous traveler Joseph Jorkens and the outrageous murder tale "The Two Bottles of Relish." Throughout, the stories are united by Dunsany's cosmic vision, his impeccable and mellifluous prose, and his distinctively Irish sense of whimsy. Here published for the first time by Penguin Classics, this edition is the only annotated version of Dunsany's short stories. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Author : Suhair Eyad Jamal Al-Alami
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 133 pages
File Size : 39,91 MB
Release : 2020-09-30
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 1527560376
This book includes thirteen short stories, chosen to illustrate various modes of narration and to provoke reflection on a range of issues. The texts illustrate how great writers can, with their insight and gift for words, help us to see the world in which we live in new probing and exciting ways. Upon the completion of this book, learners will be able to read to find and handle information for a range of purposes, as well as read to enjoy and respond to a variety of texts. The book will also equip the reader to write for a range of purposes, conveying meaning in language appropriate to purpose and audience, and communicate effectively with native and non-native speakers of English, manipulating language as appropriate. What characterises this book is its integration of literary competence, communicative competence, and critical thinking skills. This combined input incorporates the receptive skills of listening and reading, and the productive skills of speaking and writing.
Author : Douglas A. Anderson
Publisher : Del Rey
Page : 504 pages
File Size : 15,57 MB
Release : 2003-08-26
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 034546981X
Terry Brooks. David Eddings. George R. R. Martin. Robin Hobb. The top names in modern fantasy all acknowledge J. R. R. Tolkien as their role model, the author whose work inspired them to create their own epics. But what writers influenced Tolkien himself? Here, internationally recognized Tolkien expert Douglas A. Anderson has gathered the fiction of authors who sparked Tolkien’s imagination in a collection destined to become a classic in its own right. Andrew Lang’s romantic swashbuckler, “The Story of Sigurd,” features magic rings, an enchanted sword, and a brave hero loved by two beautiful women— and cursed by a ferocious dragon. Tolkien read E. A. Wyke-Smith’s “The Marvelous Land of Snergs” to his children, delighting in these charming tales of a pixieish people “only slightly taller than the average table.” Also appearing in this collection is a never-before-published gem by David Lindsay, author of Voyage to Arcturus, a novel which Tolkien praised highly both as a thriller and as a work of philosophy, religion, and morals. In stories packed with magical journeys, conflicted heroes, and terrible beasts, this extraordinary volume is one that no fan of fantasy or Tolkien should be without. These tales just might inspire a new generation of creative writers. Tales Before Tolkien: 22 Magical Stories “The Elves” by Ludwig Tieck “The Golden Key” by George Macdonald “Puss-Cat Mew” by E. H. Knatchbull-Hugessen “The Griffin and the Minor Canon” by Frank R. Stockton “The Demon Pope” by Richard Garnett “The Story of Sigurd” by Andrew Lang “The Folk of the Mountain Door” by William Morris “Black Heart and White Heart” by H. Rider Haggard “The Dragon Tamers” by E. Nesbit “The Far Islands” by John Buchan “The Drawn Arrow” by Clemence Housman “The Enchanted Buffalo” by L. Frank Baum “Chu-bu and Sheemish” by Lord Dunsany “The Baumhoff Explosive” by William Hope Hodgson “The Regent of the North” by Kenneth Morris “The Coming of the Terror” by Arthur Machen “The Elf Trap” by Francis Stevens “The Thin Queen of Elfhame” by James Branch Cabell “The Woman of the Wood” by A. Merritt “Golithos the Ogre” by E. A. Wyke-Smith “The Story of Alwina” by Austin Tappan Wright “A Christmas Play” by David Lindsay
Author : Antonio Sanna
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 277 pages
File Size : 47,1 MB
Release : 2021-04-21
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 1793635471
Arthur Machen: Critical Essays offers a study of the works by Arthur Machen (1863-1947), the Welsh writer who has attracted a cult following for decades, especially among fans and scholars of weird fiction and Gothic studies. These essays take readers into different areas and address several topics in Machen's literary production: the literary, the artistic, the scientific, the religious, the socio-cultural, and the personal. The twelve chapters constituting the volume examine the representation of human beings in the writer's works and their relationship with the surrounding environment, whether it is the omnipresent London or the mysterious, menacing nature. The contributors also interpret Machen's writings through a series of disciplines and academic theories that were contemporary to the writer (such as paleontology and medicine) and demonstrate how he was influenced by the scientific discourses of his time and reproduced them in his works. The last section of the volume considers Machen's interest in the occult and mysticism and the religious themes present in many of his works.
Author : S. T. Joshi
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 513 pages
File Size : 41,27 MB
Release : 2013-10-01
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 1101662751
Part of a new six-volume series of the best in classic horror, selected by Academy Award-winning director of The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro American Supernatural Tales is the ultimate collection of weird and frightening American short fiction. As Stephen King will attest, the popularity of the occult in American literature has only grown since the days of Edgar Allan Poe. The book celebrates the richness of this tradition with chilling contributions from some of the nation's brightest literary lights, including Poe himself, H. P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and—of course—Stephen King. This volumes also includes "The Yellow Sign," the most horrific story from The King in Yellow, the classic horror collection by Robert W. Chambers featured on HBO's hit TV series True Detective. By turns phantasmagoric, spectral, and demonic, this is a frighteningly good collection of stories. Filmmaker and longtime horror literature fan Guillermo del Toro serves as the curator for the Penguin Horror series, a new collection of classic tales and poems by masters of the genre. Included here are some of del Toro’s favorites, from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ray Russell’s short story “Sardonicus,” considered by Stephen King to be “perhaps the finest example of the modern Gothic ever written,” to Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and stories by Ray Bradbury, Joyce Carol Oates, Ted Klein, and Robert E. Howard. Featuring original cover art by Penguin Art Director Paul Buckley, these stunningly creepy deluxe hardcovers will be perfect additions to the shelves of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal aficionados everywhere.
Author : Michael Dirda
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 170 pages
File Size : 15,49 MB
Release : 2015-08-15
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 1605988456
Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Michael Dirda has been hailed as "the best-read person in America" (The Paris Review) and "the best book critic in America" (The New York Observer). His latest volume collects fifty of his witty and wide-ranging reflections on a life in literature. Reaching from the classics to the post-moderns, his allusions dance from Samuel Johnson, Ralph Waldo Emerson and M. F. K. Fisher to Marilynne Robinson, Hunter S. Thompson, and David Foster Wallace. Dirda's topics are equally diverse: literary pets, the lost art of cursive writing, book inscriptions, the pleasures of science fiction conventions, author photographs, novelists in old age, Oberlin College, a year in Marseille, writer's block, and much more. As admirers of his earlier books will expect, there are annotated lists galore—of perfect book titles, great adventure novels, favorite words, books about books, and beloved children's classics, as well as a revealing peek at the titles Michael keeps on his own nightstand.Funny and erudite, Browsings is a celebration of the reading life, a fan's notes, and the perfect gift for any booklover.
Author : Stuart D. Lee
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 590 pages
File Size : 50,13 MB
Release : 2014-04-02
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 1118517482
This is a complete resource for scholars and students of Tolkien, as well as avid fans, with coverage of his life, work, dominant themes, influences, and the critical reaction to his writing. An in-depth examination of Tolkien’s entire work by a cadre of top scholars Provides up-to-date discussion and analysis of Tolkien’s scholarly and literary works, including his latest posthumous book, The Fall of Arthur, as well as addressing contemporary adaptations, including the new Hobbit films Investigates various themes across his body of work, such as mythmaking, medieval languages, nature, war, religion, and the defeat of evil Discusses the impact of his work on art, film, music, gaming, and subsequent generations of fantasy writers
Author : Don G. Smith
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 185 pages
File Size : 42,82 MB
Release : 2005-12-13
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 078642091X
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born late in the 19th century, but it was not until after his death in 1937 that he became a worldwide icon of horror and supernatural fiction. Influenced largely by Lord Dunsany and Edgar Allan Poe, Lovecraft's stories are known for their unique assimilation of gothic themes into science fiction. Lovecraft's influence has stretched far beyond literary horror, as a number of his works have been adapted for feature films, television episodes, comic book tales and, in recent years, video games. This scholarly study highlights Lovecraft's profound impact on 20th century popular culture. Early chapters introduce his complete writings, providing an annotated bibliography of the author's horror and science fiction tales. The works are discussed in the context of the Cthulhu Mythos, an invented mythology centering on ancient and alien beings interacting with the terrestrial world. Later chapters provide a filmography of motion pictures that credit Lovecraft or are identifiably adapted from his works, as well as a discussion of the works that have been adapted for television, comic books, role-playing video games, and music. The book concludes with a close examination of the Lovecraft legacy, commenting on his specific social and metaphysical ideologies and placing the author in context among such notable literary personalities as Mary Shelley, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Robert Louis Stevenson.
