The Mezentian Gate

Last updated

The Mezentian Gate
TheMezentianGate.jpg
Cover of the first edition.
Author E. R. Eddison
IllustratorKeith Henderson
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Series Zimiamvian Trilogy
Genre Fantasy
Publisher Curwen Press
Publication date
1958
Media typePrint (Hardback)
Pagesxxiv, 247
Followed by A Fish Dinner in Memison  

The Mezentian Gate is a fantasy novel by English writer E. R. Eddison, the third in his Zimiamvian Trilogy. It is primarily a history of the rule of the fictional King Mezentius (the Tyrant of Fingiswold), and his methods of gaining and holding the Three Kingdoms of Fingiswold, Meszria and Rerek in sway.

Contents

Published posthumously, The Mezentian Gate is only partially completed as prose. In many of the central chapters, only the plot outline is presented. The first edition, published in 1958, comprised those chapters completed by Eddison, supplemented by an "Argument" summarizing the unfinished portions of the novel. An omnibus edition of the trilogy, published in 1992 as Zimiamvia, supplemented the 1958 text with unfinished draft texts for several never-completed chapters found among Eddison's manuscripts in the Bodleian Library. [1] The expanded version was published in an independent edition by HarperCollins in 2014.

The Mezentian Gate is chronologically the first book in the Zimiamvian Trilogy.

Sources

Related Research Articles

<i>The Lord of the Rings</i> 1954–1955 fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Tolkien</span> British book editor, son of J. R. R. Tolkien

Christopher John Reuel Tolkien was an English and naturalised French academic editor. The son of the author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, he edited 24 volumes of his father's posthumously published work, including The Silmarillion and the 12-volume series The History of Middle-Earth, a task that took 45 years. He also drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm Lowry</span> English poet and novelist

Clarence Malcolm Lowry was an English poet and novelist who is best known for his 1947 novel Under the Volcano, which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list.

<i>The Return of the King</i> 1955 part of novel by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, which is soon to be attacked by the Dark Lord Sauron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ngaio Marsh</span> New Zealand crime writer and theatre director (1895–1982)

Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh was a New Zealand mystery writer and theatre director. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966.

The Three Kingdoms period (220–280) was the tripartite division of China among the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. R. Eddison</span> British author of epic fantasy

Eric Rücker Eddison, CB, CMG was an English civil servant and author, writing epic fantasy novels under the name E. R. Eddison. His best-known works include The Worm Ouroboros (1922) and the Zimiamvian Trilogy (1935–1958).

The Notion Club Papers is an abandoned novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, written in 1945 and published posthumously in Sauron Defeated, the 9th volume of The History of Middle-earth. It is a time travel story, written while The Lord of the Rings was being developed. The Notion Club is a fictionalization of Tolkien's own such club, the Inklings. Tolkien's mechanism for the exploration of time is through lucid dreams. These allow club members to experience events as far back as the destruction of the Atlantis-like island of Númenor, as narrated in The Silmarillion.

<i>The Worm Ouroboros</i> 1922 fantasy novel set on highly-fictionalized Mercury by E. R. Eddison

The Worm Ouroboros is a heroic high fantasy novel by English writer E. R. Eddison, first published in 1922. The book describes the protracted war between the domineering King Gorice of Witchland and the Lords of Demonland in an imaginary world that appears mainly medieval and partly reminiscent of Norse sagas. The work is slightly related to Eddison's later Zimiamvian Trilogy, and collectively they are sometimes referred to as the Zimiamvian series.

<i>The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey</i> Unfinished 2004 novel by Patrick OBrian

The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey is the unfinished twenty-first historical novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in its incomplete form in 2004. It appeared in the United States of America under the title of 21.

<i>The Mystery of the Blue Train</i> 1928 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

The Mystery of the Blue Train is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by William Collins & Sons on 29 March 1928 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00. The book features her detective Hercule Poirot.

<i>Unfinished Portrait</i> (novel) 1934 novel by Agatha Christie

Unfinished Portrait is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins in March 1934 and in the US by Doubleday later in the same year. The British edition retailed for seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00. It is the second of six novels Christie wrote under the pen name Mary Westmacott.

The Zimiamvian Trilogy is a series of fantasy novels by English author E. R. Eddison.

<i>Mistress of Mistresses</i> 1935 novel by E. R. Eddison

Mistress of Mistresses is a fantasy novel by English writer E. R. Eddison, the first in his Zimiamvian Trilogy. First published in 1935, it centers on political intrigues between the nobles and rulers of the Three Kingdoms of Rerek, Meszria and Fingiswold, following the death of King Mezentius, an extraordinary ruler who has held sway over three kingdoms mainly through force of character. Dissolution of the realm seems certain as alliances are formed and begin to intrigue against each other. The character of Lessingham is an unknown quantity, with a strong character of his own, but the reader is kept uncertain over what impact Lessingham can have over the future of the realm until the novel's close.

<i>A Fish Dinner in Memison</i>

A Fish Dinner in Memison is a 1941 fantasy novel by English writer E. R. Eddison, the second in his Zimiamvian Trilogy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three-volume novel</span> Form of publishing a novel/series in 3 volumes

The three-volume novel was a standard form of publishing for British fiction during the nineteenth century. It was a significant stage in the development of the modern novel as a form of popular literature in Western culture.

Douglas Clegg is an American horror and dark fantasy author, and a pioneer in the field of e-publishing. He maintains a strong Internet presence through his website.

Erin Hunter is a collective pseudonym used by the authors Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Clarissa Hutton, Inbali Iserles, Tui T. Sutherland, and Rosie Best in the writing of several juvenile fantasy novel series which focus on animals and their adventures. Notable works include the Warriors, Seekers, Survivors, Bravelands, and Bamboo Kingdom book series. For each book, Holmes creates the plot and the others take turns writing the books. Dan Jolley, though not an official Erin Hunter author, also writes the stories for manga published under the Hunter name. James L. Barry, Bettina M. Kurkoski, and Don Hudson are included under the pseudonym as the illustrators of the Warriors mangas. Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter are also included as the illustrators of the upcoming graphic novel adaptation of The Prophecies Begin.

<i>The History of The Hobbit</i> 2007 nonfiction book about The Hobbit

The History of The Hobbit is a two-volume study of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel The Hobbit. It was first published by HarperCollins in 2007. It contains Tolkien's unpublished drafts of the novel, with commentary by John D. Rateliff. It details Tolkien's various revisions to The Hobbit, including abandoned revisions for the unpublished third edition of the work, intended for 1960, as well as previously unpublished original maps and illustrations drawn by Tolkien.

<i>The Story of the Treasure Seekers</i> 1899 novel by E. Nesbit

The Story of the Treasure Seekers is a novel by E. Nesbit first published in 1899. It tells the story of Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Alice, Noel, and Horace Octavius Bastable, and their attempts to assist their widowed father and recover the fortunes of their family. The novel's complete name is The Story of the Treasure Seekers: Being the Adventures of the Bastable Children in Search of a Fortune. The original edition included illustrations by H. R. Millar. The Puffin edition (1958) was illustrated by Cecil Leslie. Its sequels are The Wouldbegoods (1901) and The New Treasure Seekers (1904).

References

  1. Paul Edward Thomas, "Introduction", The Mezentian Gate, HarperCollins, 2014, ix–x.