The Book of Wonder: A collection of creative and inspirational tales from the Father of Fantasy

Written by Lord Dunsany

Narrated by Chirag Patel

Lord Dunsany was the fantasy writer's fantasy writer. From Tolkien to Gaiman, from Le Guin to Moorcock, his heroes and strange situations inspired an entire genre of modern dark fantasy.

Come now to discover the secrets of strange islands, the fate of thieves who dare to steal from gods, encounters with the Sphinx and the Dragon of Romance in suburbia, and the desperate quest to make a Queen cry. Along the way, you'll meet characters like the centaur that travelled from one edge of the world to another, and monsters that sit on their hoard of rubies, or giant diamonds, or even on treasures beyond value, waiting for daring and foolish adventurers. Also includes the first adventure of the magnificent Captain Shard.

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.

Book editions include illustrations by Sidney Syme, Lord Dunsany's artist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lamplight
• Release date: Apr 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781094261423

Lord Dunsany

Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) was a British writer. Born in London, Dunsany—whose name was Edward Plunkett—was raised in a prominent Anglo-Irish family alongside a younger brother. When his father died in 1899, he received the title of Lord Dunsany and moved to Dunsany Castle in 1901. He met Lady Beatrice Child Villiers two years later, and they married in 1904. They were central figures in the social spheres of Dublin and London, donating generously to the Abbey Theatre while forging friendships with W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and George William Russell. In 1905, he published The Gods of Pegāna, a collection of fantasy stories, launching his career as a leading figure in the Irish Literary Revival. Subsequent collections, such as A Dreamer’s Tales (1910) and The Book of Wonder (1912), would influence generations of writers, including J. R. R. Tolkein, Ursula K. Le Guin, and H. P. Lovecraft. In addition to his pioneering work in the fantasy and science fiction genres, Dunsany was a successful dramatist and poet. His works have been staged and adapted for theatre, radio, television, and cinema, and he was unsuccessfully nominated for the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature.