Information
Goodreads: King of Elfland's Daughter
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Source: Library
Published: 1924
Summary
When the lord of Erl receives word that his people wish to be ruled by a magic lord, he sends his son Alveric to wed the Elf King's daughter. But though the two escape her father's lands, always Lirazel longs for the magic of her former home. A tale that explores the implications of the mundane meeting the magical, and what happens after the words, "And they lived happily ever after."
Review
The King of Elfland's Daughter weaves an enchanting spell. Poetic images scatter like pearls across the page, inviting readers to image a world where the magical and the mundane meet, and no one can feel quite sure of the stable ground beneath their feet. This is fantasy at its finest, reminding readers that no one can enter Fairyland without paying the cost.
Though written in the 1920s, The King of Elfland's Daughter seems to hearken back to the Victorian prose of Lord Dunsany's youth, weaving complex patterns and requiring the reader to pay strict attention to what is happening. This is an old-fashioned novel, one that feels like it, both in the way it takes Fairyland quite seriously, and in the way its sentences both flicker with poetry and subvert the expected order of things. Readers will have to know the older meanings of words and be comfortable with archaic-sounding language to fully enjoy the experience.
But what an experience! Lord Dunsany's prose grasps for the fleeting, unknowable beauty of Elfland, and, in doing so, reminds readers of the magic that imbues ordinary life. The way the farmers and the villagers speak of the land reminds readers that there is magic in nature, in the changing of the seasons, and in knowing, in your bones, where you belong. For me, this is one of the chief marks of a transformative fantasy: one that makes the real world seem always on the verge of pulling back the curtain to reveal that magic was just there, all the time.
The King of Elfland's Daughter is, ultimately, a work that defies easy description. It dances from Elfand back to the real world again and again, showing magic that has a price and the happily-ever-after of fairy tales may not be as true as you think: the story ever goes on. It is a book where madman are the most sane, and those who try to force Elfland into neat boxes find all their plans set to naught. It is a story about love, perhaps, but also about being careful what you wish for, and about the desire for the magic and the desire for religion, and the tensions that creates. The book is many things. It is, most of all, unforgettable.
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