Edward Plunkett Dunsany

The Gods of Pegana, by Lord Dunsany, is an imaginative book of fantasy and one of the most important collections compiled of short stories from the early part of the 20th century. Dunsany fully exploits the fantasy and adventure of imaginary lands, which include gods, witches, magic and spirits, The God of Pegana is both an important science fiction work which is both for its ability to be an excellent collection children's fairy tales as well as...

These plays and stories have for their continual theme the passing away of gods and men and cities before the mysterious power which is sometimes called by some great god's name but more often "Time." His travelers, who travel by so many rivers and deserts and listen to sounding names none heard before, come back with no tale that does not tell of vague rebellion against that power, and all the beautiful things they have seen get something of their...

An influential fantasy writer and a key figure in the Irish literary renaissance, Edward J. M. D. Plunkett, the eighteenth Baron Dunsany (1878-1957) produced a trove of gems of the imagination. The 12 stories here are some of his best. They will take you on a remarkable journey to places that sometimes seem soft and pleasant, sometimes bleak and ominous - but always surprising. Ten magnificent illustrations by S. H. Simes, perfectly reflecting Dunsany's...

Lord Dunsany is one of the most remarkable authors to have ever lived. If not in the way he wrote his prose, then in the way he lived his life as an adventure. And from this sense of adventure he developed a most remarkable perspective on the universe and fantasy. From this perspective he wrote a new mythology full of childish wonder, simplicity and also beauty. There is an aesthetic of delight to be found in Time and the Gods and it is this aesthetic...

Sometimes one needs to indulge in the pastel whimsies of Dunsany. This mood overtakes me every so often. It happened recently, so I read this substantial book of his plays. I found each piece to be enchanting, humorous, witty at times, fairly clever and pleasingly ridiculous. The first and longest of the plays, entitled simply 'If', is the best and the most inventive. It's a time travel story that involves a wish and a chance to change one incident...

Not only does any tale, which crosshatches between this world and Faerie owe a Founder's Debt to Lord Dunsany, but the secondary world created by J.R.R. Tolkien--from which almost all fantasylands have devolved--also took shape and flower from Dunsany's example. --The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. Most fantasy enthusiasts consider Lord Dunsany one of the most significant forces in modern fantasy; his influences have been observed in the works of H.P. Lovecraft,...

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.

Tales of War is a melancholy, atypical, and occasionally surprising book by the author of The Gods of Pegana and The King of Elfland's Daughter. It was written for a political rather than artistic purpose, but because it was painfully inspired from life (and death) and because it is written by a great writer, it is far more than just a curio. It also crosses more than once into the fantastic realm, which is partly why it is of interest to readers...

A fine selection of Dunsany's plays, including: "The Gods of the Mountain, The Golden Doom, King Argimenes and The Unknown Warrior, The Glittering Gate, " and "The Lost Silk Hat." These plays are certainly old-fashioned, but are interesting trinkets nonetheless for the modern reader of Shakespeare, Tolkien, Lovecraft, etc. Their self-conscious old-worldliness more or less rules them out of a seriously approached modern-day staging, though a brave...