In the Land of Time, and Other Fantasy Tales

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In the Land of Time, and Other Fantasy Tales
InTheLandOfTime.jpg
First edition
AuthorLord Dunsany
Cover artistSidney Sime
PublisherPenguin Classics
Publication date
2004

In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales is a posthumous collection of short stories by the writer Lord Dunsany in the Penguin Classics series. It was published in 2004. [1] Edited and with an introduction by S. T. Joshi, it assembles material from across Dunsany's long career. The cover illustration is a colourised version of a classic illustration for an early Dunsany story by his preferred artist, Sidney Sime.

Contents

Contents

The collection includes several of Dunsany's most famous stories. It is grouped in themed sections by the editor, and the contents [2] are:

Reception

Ursula K. Le Guin reviewed the collection for the Los Angeles Times . She described the effect reading A Dreamer's Tales had on her as a child, comparing his effect to J. R. R. Tolkien. She felt that The Gods of Pegāna had aged poorly, and that Jorkens could be a bore. However, she stated that other early works were fine, especially "Idle Days on the Yann", and that Dunsany's best stories were "unique" and well-observed, witty, and had "a mannered but vivid, clear, and subtle style". [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Dunsany</span> Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist (1878–1957)

Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany,, commonly known as Lord Dunsany, was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. He published more than 90 books during his lifetime, and his output consisted of hundreds of short stories, plays, novels, and essays. He gained a name in the 1910s as a great writer in the English-speaking world. Best known today are the 1924 fantasy novel, The King of Elfland's Daughter, and his first book, The Gods of Pegāna, which depicts a fictional pantheon. Many critics feel his early work laid grounds for the fantasy genre.

<i>The Gods of Pegāna</i> First book by Lord Dunsany (1905)

The Gods of Pegāna is the first book by Anglo-Irish writer Lord Dunsany, published in 1905. The fantasy book was reviewed favourably but as an unusual piece. One of the more influential reviews was by Edward Thomas in the London Daily Chronicle.

<i>The Fourth Book of Jorkens</i> Book by Lord Dunsany (1947)

The Fourth Book of Jorkens is a collection of fantasy short stories, narrated by Mr. Joseph Jorkens, by writer Lord Dunsany. It was first published by Jarrolds in 1947. It was the fourth collection of Dunsany's Jorkens tales to be published. It has also been issued in combination with the third book, Jorkens Has a Large Whiskey, and two uncollected short stories, in the omnibus edition The Collected Jorkens, Volume Two, published by Night Shade Books in 2004.

<i>At the Edge of the World</i> (short story collection) Collection of short fiction by Lord Dunsany

At the Edge of the World is a collection of fantasy short stories by Irish writer Lord Dunsany, edited by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books as the thirteenth volume of its Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in March 1970. It was the series' second Dunsany volume, and the first collection of his shorter fantasies assembled by Carter.

<i>Beyond the Fields We Know</i> Collection of short fiction by Lord Dunsany

Beyond the Fields We Know is a collection of fantasy short stories by Irish writer Lord Dunsany, and edited by Lin Carter. The title is derived from a description of the location of the border of Elfland used over one hundred times in Lord Dunsany's best-known novel, The King of Elfland's Daughter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books as the forty-seventh volume of its Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in May 1972. It was the series' fourth Dunsany volume, and the second collection of his shorter fantasies assembled by Carter.

<i>Fifty-One Tales</i> Book by Lord Dunsany (1915)

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 first editions, in hardcover, were published simultaneously in London and New York City by Elkin Mathews and Mitchell Kennerly, respectively, in April 1915. The British and American editions differ in that they arrange the material slightly differently and that each includes a story the other omits; "The Poet Speaks with Earth" in the British version, and "The Mist" in the American version.

<i>Time and the Gods</i> Book of short stories by Lord Dunsany (1906)

Time and the Gods is the second book by Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin, and others. It is a collection of short stories linked by Dunsany's invented pantheon of deities who dwell in Pegāna. It was preceded by his earlier collection The Gods of Pegāna and followed by some stories in The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories. Dunsany included a brief preface in the original edition and added a new introduction to the 1922 edition.

<i>The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories</i> Book by Lord Dunsany (1908)

The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories is the third book by Anglo-Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin, and others. It was first published in hardcover by George Allen & Sons in October 1908, and has been reprinted a number of times since. Issued by the Modern Library in a combined edition with A Dreamer's Tales as A Dreamer's Tales and Other Stories in 1917.

<i>A Dreamers Tales</i> Book of fantasy stories by Lord Dunsany (1910)

A Dreamer's Tales is the fourth book by Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin, and others. Like most of Dunsany's early books, A Dreamer's Tales is a collection of fantasy short stories.

The Book of Wonder is the seventh book and fifth original short story collection of Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin, and others. It was first published in hardcover by William Heinemann in November 1912, and has been reprinted a number of times since. A 1918 edition from the Modern Library was actually a combined edition with Time and the Gods.

<i>The Last Book of Wonder</i> Book of short stories by Lord Dunsany (1916)

The Last Book of Wonder, originally published as Tales of Wonder, is the tenth book and sixth original short story collection of Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin and others.

<i>Tales of Three Hemispheres</i> Book by Lord Dunsany (1919)

Tales of Three Hemispheres is a collection of fantasy short stories by Lord Dunsany. The first edition was published in Boston by John W. Luce & Co. in November 1919; the first British edition was published in London by T. Fisher Unwin in June 1920.

<i>Jorkens Borrows Another Whiskey</i> Book by Lord Dunsany (1954)

Jorkens Borrows Another Whiskey is a collection of fantasy short stories, narrated by Mr. Joseph Jorkens, by writer Lord Dunsany. It was first published in London by Michael Joseph in 1954. It was the fifth collection of Dunsany's Jorkens tales to be published. It has also been issued in combination with the sixth book, The Last Book of Jorkens, and three other short stories, in the omnibus edition The Collected Jorkens, Volume Three, published by Night Shade Books in 2005.

<i>The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens</i> Collection of fantasy short stories by Lord Dunsany (1931)

The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens is a collection of fantasy short stories by writer Lord Dunsany. It was first published in London by G. P. Putnam's Sons in April, 1931, with the American edition following in September of the same year from the same publisher. It was the first collection of Dunsany's Jorkens tales to be published. It has also been issued in combination with the second book, Jorkens Remembers Africa, in the omnibus edition The Collected Jorkens, Volume One, published by Night Shade Books in 2004.

<i>Jorkens Remembers Africa</i> Book by Lord Dunsany (1934)

Jorkens Remembers Africa is a collection of fantasy short stories, narrated by Mr. Joseph Jorkens, by writer Lord Dunsany. It was first published in New York City by Longmans, Green & Co. in October, 1934, with the English edition following in November of the same year from the same publisher. It was the second collection of Dunsany's Jorkens tales to be published. It has also been issued in combination with the first book, The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens, in the omnibus edition The Collected Jorkens, Volume One, published by Night Shade Books in 2004.

Joseph Jorkens is the lead character in over 150 short stories written between 1925 and 1957 by the Irish author Lord Dunsany, noted for his fantasy short stories, fantastic plays, novels and other writings. The Jorkens stories, primarily fantasy but also including elements of adventure, mystery and science fiction literature, have been collected in a series of six books, and were a key inspiration for the "fantastic club tale" type of short story.

<i>Time and the Gods</i> (omnibus) Collection of six books by Lord Dunsany

Time and the Gods is an omnibus collection of fantasy stories by Anglo-Irish writer Lord Dunsany. It was first published by Orion Books in 2000 as the second volume of their Fantasy Masterworks series. This omnibus contains all the stories from Dunsany's earlier collections: The Gods of Pegāna (1905), Time and the Gods (1906), The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories (1908), A Dreamer's Tales (1910), The Book of Wonder (1912), and The Last Book of Wonder (1916).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idle Days on the Yann</span> Short story by Lord Dunsany

"Idle Days on the Yann" is a short story by the Irish writer Lord Dunsany. It takes place in the Lands of Dream and follows an Irishman's voyage down a river flanked by fantastical cities. It was published in the short story collections A Dreamer's Tales (1910) and Tales of Three Hemispheres (1919). Sidney Sime illustrated the story with two images.

References

  1. "In the Land of Time And Other Fantasy Tales". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  2. Dunsany, Lord: Penguin (New York and London), 2004, "In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales", Penguin Classics, front matter
  3. Le Guin, Ursula K. (27 June 2004). "Vivid fantasy beyond Middle-earth". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  4. Le Guin, Ursula K. "Lord Dunsany: In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales edited by S.T. Joshi: A Review by Ursula K. Le Guin". Ursula K. le Guin. Retrieved 7 September 2023.

Sources