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The Book of Wonder (1912) is a short story collection by Lord Dunsany. Published at the height of his career, The Book of Wonder would influence such writers as J. R. R. Tolkein, Ursula K. Le Guin, and H. P. Lovecraft. Recognized as a pioneering author of fantasy and science fiction, Dunsany is a man whose work, in the words of Lovecraft, remains "unexcelled in the sorcery of crystalline singing prose, and supreme in the creation of a gorgeous and languorous world of incandescently exotic vision." The Book of Wonder, Dunsany's fifth collection of stories, contains fourteen of his finest tales of fantasy and adventure. In "The Hoard of the Gibbelins," originally published in London weekly The Sketch, is the story of Alderic, a Knight of the Order of the City. Courageous and strong, he ventures to the island realm of the Gibbelins, where a horde of treasure is rumored to be held at the base of a treacherous castle. In "Chu-Bu and Sheemish," two idols held in the same ancient temple compete for the adoration of their worshippers. As Chu-Bu and Sheemish attempt more and more astounding miracles, they risk striking fear in the hearts of their superstitious people. Humorous and inventive, Dunsany's tales of high fantasy continue to delight over a century after they first appeared in print. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Lord Dunsany's The Book of Wonder is a classic of Irish fantasy fiction reimagined for modern readers.
About the author
Anglo-Irish author and playwright Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany, FRSL (24 July 1878 - 25 October 1957), better known as Lord Dunsany, was born on July 24, 1878, and died on October 25, 1957. During his lifetime, he wrote hundreds of short stories, plays, novels, and articles and put them out in more than 90 books. In the 1910s, most people who spoke English knew him as a great writer. Today, The King of Elfland's Daughter (1924), a fantasy book, and his first book, The Gods of Peg¿na, which is about a made-up pantheon, are his most famous works. A lot of reviewers think that his early work paved the way for the magic genre. He was born in London as the heir to an old Irish peerage. He spent some of his childhood in Kent and most of his adult life at Dunsany Castle near Tara, which may be Ireland's oldest home. Along with W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory, he helped the Abbey Theatre and some other writers. He was Ireland's best at chess and gun, and he liked to travel and hunt. He came up with Dunsany's chess, an irregular game. After a while, Trinity College Dublin gave him an honors doctorate.
