 First edition cover | |
| Author | Ursula K. Le Guin |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Harper & Row United States |
Publication date | 1976 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 179 pp |
| ISBN | 0-06-012561-6 |
| OCLC | 2331143 |
Orsinian Tales is a collection of eleven short stories by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, most of them set in the imaginary country of Orsinia.
The stories share few links except those derived from the use of a common geographical setting; the only link between characters appears in the stories Brothers and Sisters and A Week in the Country, both of which deal with members of the Fabbre family (whose history is continued in the later story Unlocking the Air). Common to all the stories, however, are emotionally moving personal events—often, though not always, romantic—set against the backdrop of much larger political events such as wars and revolutions. Continually reasserted are the right of the individual—sometimes alone, but often in conjunction with others—to his or her own thoughts and emotions, not dictated by society, or convention, or the State.
Additional stories in the cycle include the novel Malafrena (1979), set in the Orsinia of the 1820s; the Borges-like story "Two Delays on the Northern Line" (1979, anthologized in The Compass Rose 1982), containing two tangentially linked episodes of uncertain date; and "Unlocking the Air" (1990, anthologized in Unlocking the Air and Other Stories 1996). [1] The last-named story extends Orsinian history to the time of the downfall of Communism in Orsinia—and the rest of Eastern Europe—in the winter of 1989. [2]
The stories are set in a fictional country somewhere in Central Europe, at different times in the period 1150-1965 (though only two take place before the 20th century). This country, "Orsinia", appears in Le Guin's earliest writings, [3] [4] and was invented by Le Guin when she was a young adult learning her craft as a writer. [5] The names Orsinia and Ursula are both derived from Latin ursus "bear" (ursula = diminutive of ursa "female bear"; ursinus = "bear-like"). Le Guin once said that since Orsinia was her own country it should bear her name. [6]
The history of Orsinia follows, in general, that of other countries of Central Europe, particularly those formerly part of Austria-Hungary. Formerly an independent kingdom (The Lady of Moge), by the 19th century it was a dependency of the Austrian Empire (Malafrena). It was involved in the First World War (Conversations at Night), and was thereafter independent for a while. Its fate in World War II is not mentioned, but in 1946 or 1947 it became a satellite state in the East bloc. A revolt was attempted in 1956 (The Road East), but was crushed and followed by reprisals (A Week in the Country), and Orsinia remained a repressive police state for several decades. In November 1989, following a series of non-violent protests, the government fell, to be replaced by a transitional régime promising free elections (Unlocking the Air). Le Guin did not publish any Orsinian stories dealing with its history since. [7]
The Orsinian stories borrow episodes from, and sometimes explicitly refer to, the history of the Czech lands, [8] Hungary, and other countries of Central Europe [9] —for example, it is landlocked and in the 19th century rebelled unsuccessfully against Habsburg rule. It is not however, a mere fictionalization of any real country, but rather one imagined with its own unique characteristics and history, distilled from Le Guin's personal interpretation and reaction to historical events. [10]
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the Earthsea fantasy series. She was first published in 1959, and her literary career spanned nearly sixty years, producing more than twenty novels and over a hundred short stories, in addition to poetry, literary criticism, translations, and children's books. Frequently described as an author of science fiction, Le Guin has also been called a "major voice in American Letters". Le Guin said she would prefer to be known as an "American novelist".
The Dispossessed is a 1974 anarchist utopian science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, one of her seven Hainish Cycle novels. It is one of a small number of books to win all three Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards for Best Novel. It achieved a degree of literary recognition unusual for science fiction due to its exploration of themes such as anarchism and revolutionary societies, capitalism, utopia, individualism, and collectivism.
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is a 1973 short work of philosophical fiction by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. With deliberately both vague and vivid descriptions, the narrator depicts a summer festival in the utopian city of Omelas, whose prosperity depends on the perpetual misery of a single child. "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" was nominated for the Locus Award for Best Short Fiction in 1974 and won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1974.
The Earthsea Cycle, also known as Earthsea, is a series of high fantasy books written by the American author Ursula K. Le Guin. Beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), The Tombs of Atuan, (1970) and The Farthest Shore (1972), the series was continued in Tehanu (1990), and Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind. In 2018, all the novels and short stories were published in a single volume, The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition, with artwork by Charles Vess.
Always Coming Home is a 1985 science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. It is in parts narrative, pseudo-textbook and pseudo-anthropologist's record. It describes the life and society of the Kesh people, a cultural group who live in the distant future long after modern society has collapsed. It is presented by Pandora, who seems to be an anthropologist or ethnographer from the readers' contemporary culture, or a culture very close to it. Pandora describes the book as a protest against contemporary civilization, which the Kesh call "the Sickness of Man".
City of Illusions is a 1967 science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. It is set on Earth in the distant future, and is part of her Hainish Cycle. City of Illusions lays the foundation for the Hainish cycle which is a fictional universe in which the majority of Ursula K. Le Guin's science fiction novels take place.
Malafrena is a 1979 novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. The only fantastic element of this novel is that it takes place in the imaginary Central European country of Orsinia, which is also the setting of her collection Orsinian Tales.
The Wind's Twelve Quarters is a collection of short stories by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, named after a line from A. E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad, and first published by Harper & Row in 1975. A retrospective of Le Guin's short stories, it collects 17 previously published pieces, four of which were the germs of novels she was to write later. The collection was critically well-received, with Publishers Weekly describing it as "First-rate Le Guin".
Unlocking the Air and Other Stories is a 1996 collection of short stories by Ursula K. Le Guin. Like Searoad and Orsinian Tales, most of the included stories are neither science fiction nor fantasy. It was a finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Again, Dangerous Visions (1972) is a science fiction short story anthology, edited by American author Harlan Ellison. It is the follow-up to Dangerous Visions (1967), also edited by Ellison. Cover art and interior illustrations are by Ed Emshwiller.
Ruritanian romance is a genre of literature, film and theatre comprising novels, stories, plays and films set in a fictional country, usually in Central or Eastern Europe, such as the "Ruritania" that gave the genre its name.
"The Day Before the Revolution" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. First published in Galaxy in August 1974, it was anthologized in Le Guin's 1975 collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters and in several subsequent collections. Set in the fictional Hainish universe created by Le Guin, the story has strong connections to her novel The Dispossessed, and is sometimes referred to as a prologue to the longer work, though it was written later.
The Left Hand of Darkness is a science fiction novel by U.S. writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Published in 1969, it became immensely popular, and established Le Guin's status as a major author of science fiction. The novel is set in the fictional Hainish universe as part of the Hainish Cycle, a series of novels and short stories by Le Guin, which she introduced in the 1964 short story "The Dowry of Angyar". It was fourth in sequence of writing among the Hainish novels, preceded by City of Illusions, and followed by The Word for World Is Forest.
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) was an American author of speculative fiction, realistic fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, librettos, essays, poetry, speeches, translations, literary critiques, chapbooks, and children's fiction. She was primarily known for her works of speculative fiction. These include works set in the fictional world of Earthsea, stories in the Hainish Cycle, and standalone novels and short stories. Though frequently referred to as an author of science fiction, critics have described her work as being difficult to classify.
The anthropologist Leon E. Stover says of science fiction's relationship to anthropology: "Anthropological science fiction enjoys the philosophical luxury of providing answers to the question "What is man?" while anthropology the science is still learning how to frame it". The editors of a collection of anthropological SF stories observed:
Anthropology is the science of man. It tells the story from ape-man to spaceman, attempting to describe in detail all the epochs of this continuing history. Writers of fiction, and in particular science fiction, peer over the anthropologists' shoulders as the discoveries are made, then utilize the material in fictional works. Where the scientist must speculate reservedly from known fact and make a small leap into the unknown, the writer is free to soar high on the wings of fancy.
"Coming of Age in Karhide" is a science fiction short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in 1995. The story is set on the fictional planet of Gethen, the same as Le Guin's 1969 novel The Left Hand of Darkness, and is a part of Le Guin's Hainish cycle. The story explores themes of growing into adulthood on a planet where individuals have no fixed gender identity. Reviewers stated that the story went further than Left Hand in its exploration of gender and sexuality, and was a "quietly feminist" work. It was also described as lacking the "dizzying impact" of Left Hand. In 2002, it was anthologized in the volume The Birthday of the World, along with many other stories exploring marriage and sexual relationships.
"Vaster than Empires and More Slow" is a science fiction story by American author Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the collection New Dimensions 1, edited by Robert Silverberg. It is set in the fictional Hainish universe, where Earth is a member of an interstellar "League of Worlds". The anthology was released in United States in 1971, by Doubleday Books.
"The Dowry of Angyar" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in 1964. It is the first work of the Hainish Cycle. The story is set on a fictional planet of the star Fomalhaut, and follows a highborn woman as she tries to track down a family heirloom. It was framed by commentary from ethnologists studying the intelligent life-forms of the Fomalhaut system. The story drew from Norse mythology, including the legend of the Brísingamen, and explored the concept of time dilation. "The Dowry of Angyar" drew comments for its stylistic devices, while a review praised Le Guin's writing as "crystalline prose". It was later used as the prologue to Le Guin's 1966 novel Rocannon's World. In later publications, including in the 1975 anthology The Wind's Twelve Quarters, the story was given the title "Semley's Necklace".
"Old Music and the Slave Women" is a science fiction story by Ursula K. Le Guin. It was first published in the 1999 collection Far Horizons, edited by Robert Silverberg, and anthologized multiple times in collections of Le Guin's works. The story is set on the planet of Werel in the fictional Hainish universe, created by Le Guin. That planetary system is also the setting for Le Guin's 1995 story suite Four Ways to Forgiveness. The economy of Werel is based on slavery, and during the period in which the stories are set, the society is experiencing upheaval and revolution.
"The Diary of the Rose" is a 1976 dystopian science fiction novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the Future Power collection. The tale is set in a totalitarian society which uses brainwashing by "electroshocks" to eradicate any kind of political dissent.