Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy

Terry Brooks. David Eddings. George R. R. Martin. Robin Hobb. The top names in modern fantasy all acknowledge J. R. R. Tolkien as their role model, the author whose work inspired them to create their own epics. But what writers influenced Tolkien himself? Here, internationally recognized Tolkien expert Douglas A. Anderson has gathered the fiction of authors who sparked Tolkien's imagination in a collection destined to become a classic in its own right. Andrew Lang's romantic swashbuckler, The Story of Sigurd, features magic rings, an enchanted sword, and a brave hero loved by two beautiful women- and cursed by a ferocious dragon. Tolkien read E. A. Wyke-Smith's The Marvelous Land of Snergs to his children, delighting in these charming tales of a pixieish people only slightly taller than the average table. Also appearing in this collection is a never-before-published gem by David Lindsay, author of Voyage to Arcturus, a novel which Tolkien praised highly both as a thriller and as a work of philosophy, religion, and morals. In stories packed with magical journeys, conflicted heroes, and terrible beasts, this extraordinary volume is one that no fan of fantasy or Tolkien should be without. These tales just might inspire a new generation of creative writers. Tales Before Tolkien: 22 Magical Stories The Elves by Ludwig Tieck The Golden Key by George Macdonald Puss-Cat Mew by E. H. Knatchbull-Hugessen The Griffin and the Minor Canon by Frank R. Stockton The Demon Pope by Richard Garnett The Story of Sigurd by Andrew Lang The Folk of the Mountain Door by William Morris Black Heart and White Heart by H. Rider Haggard The Dragon Tamers by E. Nesbit The Far Islands by John Buchan The Drawn Arrow by Clemence Housman The Enchanted Buffalo by L. Frank Baum Chu-bu and Sheemish by Lord Dunsany The Baumhoff Explosive by William Hope Hodgson The Regent of the North by Kenneth Morris The Coming of the Terror by Arthur Machen The Elf Trap by Francis Stevens The Thin Queen of Elfhame by James Branch Cabell The Woman of the Wood by A. Merritt Golithos the Ogre by E. A. Wyke-Smith The Story of Alwina by Austin Tappan Wright A Christmas Play by David Lindsay