Showing results by author "Dunsany" in All Categories

After 700 years of being ruled by man, the Parliament of Erl is ready to be ruled by a magical lord. Obeying the immemorial custom, the lord of Erl sends his son Alveric to fetch the King of Elfland’s daughter, Lirazel, to be his bride. Alveric makes his way to Elfland, where time passes at a rate far slower than the real world, wins her hand, and they return to Erl together. Alveric and Lirazel marry and have a son, but marriage between a mortal and a fairy princess is never simple. Lirazel struggles to adapt to the customs of humans.

The poetic style and sweeping grandeur of The King of Elfland's Daughter has made it one of the most beloved fantasy novels of our time, a masterpiece that influenced some of the greatest contemporary fantasists. The heartbreaking story of a marriage between a mortal man and an elf princess is a masterful tapestry of the fairy tale following the 'happily ever after'.

Sent forth on a quest to bring magic to the Vale of Erl, the young lord Alveric obtains a sword of thunderbolt iron, and crosses the twilight border into Elfland, returning with the beautiful Princess Lirazel as his bride. But, for two people from different worlds, however much in love, happiness is not guaranteed, and in the fields, we know, where all things are subject to the remorseless march of time, nothing truly lives happily ever after.

Of all the weavers of magic, there is none like Lord Dunsany. During his long lifetime he wrote more than 60 books including novels, plays, poetry collections and most memorably, innumerable exotic and fantastical short stories. Here is the very best of Dunsany's extraordinarily evocative tales of Faerie, of dreamworlds and of magic.

Set in a fairy-tale version of medieval Spain, the story follows Ramon Alonzo's initiation to the "Dark Arts" with a magician in order to procure the gold necessary for his sister's dowry. He befriends his master's charwoman, an old, despairing figure who has given up her shadow in exchange for immortal life. Ramon vows to help her while staying true to his initial purpose of helping his sister who, as it turns out, is willing to embrace her shadows in order to choose her own destiny...

Fifty-One Tales is a collection of fantasy short stories by Irish writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin and others.

The story began when the lord of Erl was told by his people they wanted a magic lord to rule them. That took some doing, but he sent his son, Alveric, to retrieve Lirazel, daughter of the king of Elfland, to be his wife and thus fix the situation. At first, the king was angered and sent guards to kill Alveric, but the young man of Erl fought them off, and Lizarel fell for him and decided to leave with him. Later, under a spell, she decided she wanted to see her old home again.

Edward Plunkett, better known as Lord Dunsany, published this tale of the Wild Things in 1908. In this story one of the creatures desires to obtain a soul in order to partake in the joy of human music and worship, which she can't experience without it.

"The Mermaid's Husband" is a poetic short story by Lord Dunsany, a writer known for his contributions to fantasy literature in the early 20th century. The story revolves around a mermaid and her husband, exploring themes of love, longing, and the complexities of relationships across different worlds. The narrative presents the mermaid as a creature of beauty and the sea, caught between her oceanic home and the world of humans. The husband, who is a human, represents the terrestrial life that clashes with the enchanting but perilous allure of the ocean.

The Gods of Pegāna is the first book by influential fantasy writer Lord Dunsany. In a series of short vignettes, Lord Dunsany invents a pantheon of deities who dwell in Pegāna and chronicles the history of their imagined universe. It was followed by a further collection, Time and the Gods. In lush language and dreamlike prose, Lord Dunsany’s talents are on full display as he lays the groundwork for the fantasy genre. The Dunsany Mythos features the complete contents of The Gods of Pegāna and Time and the Gods in a single audiobook edition.

The Gods of Pegana was the book that marked the transition from imaginary creatures in the real world to the gods of imaginary world. Lord Dunsany was the most influential writer in the genre that came to be known as fantasy, of which his stories set trends for that continue to this day.

Edward Plunkett, the Baron Dunsany, was just gaining his stride as the world's first modern fantasy author, and wrote this book of tales to help show that dreams still came, dark and fantastical as they may be.

The Book of Wonder is one of the most important books in the lineage of fantasy fiction. It introduced themes that Lord Dunsany worked with for the rest of his career, which created tropes that you'll recognise as if you've read and loved this book many times before.

Written in the dark days of World War I, join Lord Dunsany as he spreads the dreams that we cannot leave to die. Dunsany was the most influential writer in the genre that came to be known as fantasy, which his stories set trends for that continue to this day.

A fun adventure in a Spain that never was, in the vein of Dumas and Stevenson, with more than a taste of Cervantes. Don Rodriguez is a young nobleman who is banished from the family castle, and must set out with his rapier and mandolin to win his own estate, and perhaps even a bride. Along with his trusty servant Morano, he journeys far into the heart of the mythical Shadow Valley. Echoes of The Princess Bride resonate throughout.

Lord Dunsany was the most influential writer in the genre that came to be known as fantasy, which his stories set trends for that continue to this day. In this collection you’ll find sixteen stories from the first and greatest master of the fantasy genre.

Lord Dunsany was the most influential writer in the genre that came to be known as fantasy, of which his stories set trends for that continue to this day.

This was the book that launched a genre. Modern fantasy collections trace their lineage back to Lord Dunsany, and this was his first work that today's listeners would recognise in tone and settings.

Fifty-One Tales is a collection of fantasy short stories by Irish writer Lord Dunsany, a major influence on J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin and others. Each story is a short vignette, a single moment of strangeness or horror in the face of death.

This is a happy, feel-good tale by Lord Dunsany aka Edward Plunkett, the 18th Baron of Dunsany. Read by award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti, the wild things take you into their world.