Elfland’s Daughter - A Timeless Work

A 240 page story written in a Victorian style that keeps all the good parts and does not add any fluff. The style of the story has not been overly used so despite it being almost 100 years old it still feels rather fresh.

The Magic is Magical

It’s a story of a mortal man marrying an elf princess. Both are from different places/cultures and more importantly the elf princesses father does not approve. The magic is hardly explained but it does not need to be. Time and magic are intertwined in this novel and you get a sense of wonder. Lord Dunsany created a world where time flows different between Elfland and earth. This creates a people that understand the world in a different way as time moves slower. It can be hard to read at times as it’s written in a flowery way but this often increases the wonder of the world.

240 pages vs 7,000+ pages

A lot of authors in modern fantasy write a lot about their magic system to give the reader a better understanding of it. The problem is that the magic system gets less magical when you explain it. In addition, the number of characters is often 5+ and you can’t keep track. Lord Dunsany kept the story short and gave the introduced characters the time they needed.

Different Fantasy

Tolkien is one of the most well known fantasy authors and a lot of modern fantasy is based off “Lord of the Rings”. 5+ book series are expected out of fantasy now. Lord Dunsany’s book is similar to “The Hobbit” in that it tells a great story and the story can stand on one book. The best magical books are often smaller as they don’t make the mistake of reveling the “magic”. A magician never revels his trick and an author should never have to explain his magic.