Handheld Fantasy Classics Series
3.5/5
()
About this series
“Sylvia Townsend Warner was one of our finest writers.” – Neil Gaiman
Following the success of Kingdoms of Elfin in October 2018, this collection includes the remaining four Elfin stories along with the remarkable forgotten tales of The Cat’s Cradle Book, eighty years after its first publication.
The twenty-three stories in Of Cats and Elfins encompass scholarship, black humor, the Gothic, and the bizarrely anthropomorphic cats of The Cat’s Cradle Book, which reflect Warner’s preoccupation with the dark forces at large in Europe in the later 1930s. Warner mixes fables and myths with storytelling traditions old and new to express her unease with modern society, and its cruelties and injustices.
A new selection of Warner’s remaining fantasy short stories, collected for a new generation of fantasy enthusiasts and Warner fans.
Titles in the series (4)
- The Runagates Club
1
Twelve stories comprise John Buchan's last collection of short stories, a classic of British interwar short fiction written from 1913 to 1927. Buchan's most popular character Richard Hannay battles an ancient curse in South Africa in `The Green Wildebeest' and Edward Leithen tags along in an assassins' war in `Sing a Song of Sixpence'. The Runagates Club features First World War spy and code-cracking thrillers `The Loathly Opposite' and `Dr Lartius'; tales of supernatural possession in deepest Wales, comfortable Oxfordshire and the House of Commons, in `The Wind in the Portico', Fullcircle' and `"Tendebant Manus"'; and stories of survival in the far North and in Depression-era Canada with `Skule Skerry' and `Ship to Tarshish'. There is farce too, in `The Frying-Pan and the Fire' and `"Divus" Johnston', and the riotous journalistic romp of `The Last Crusade' is the last word on fake news, for all eras. What makes The Runagates Club special is that Buchan designed it as a showcase to bring together the best of his magazine fiction. He repurposed these stories with new beginnings, framing them as after-dinner stories told over the port in a late 1920s private gentleman's dining-club. This is interwar storytelling at its very best, with a critical introduction by Kate Macdonald, a leading authority on Buchan’s writing.
- Adrift in the Middle Kingdom
2
Jan Jacob Slauerhoff’s 1934 novel Adrift in the Middle Kingdom is an epic sweep of narrative that takes the reader from 1920s Shanghai to a forgotten city beyond the Great Wall of China. Narrated by a Belfast ship’s radio operator who travels inland on a gun-runner’s mission, desperate to escape the sea. He moves through extraordinary settings of opium salons, the house of a Cantonese watch-mender, the siege of Shanghai, the great flood on the western plains, and the discovery of oil by the uncomprehending overlord in the hidden city of Chungking. The fantasy ending transforms the novel from travelogue and adventure into existential meditation. But running like a thread of darkness through the story is opium, from poppy head harvesting to death through addiction. This translation by David McKay, winner of the 2018 Vondel Prize, is the first English edition of Slauerhoff’s most accessible and enthralling novel. The Introduction is by Slauerhoff expert Arie Pos and Wendy Gan of the University of Hong Kong.
- Kingdoms of Elfin
3
“A book for anyone who has heard the horns of Elfin in the distance at twilight.” – Neil Gaiman In Kingdoms of Elfin Sylvia Townsend Warner explores the morals, domestic practices, politics and passions of Elfins. She follows their affairs with mortals, and their daring flights across the North Sea. The Kingdoms of Brocéliande in France, Zuy in the Low Countries, Gedanken in Austria and Blokula in Lappland entertain Ambassadors, hunt with wolves, and rear changelings for the courtiers’ amusement. Enter a world where the fairy ruling classes are charming and insolent, and all levels of fairy society are heartless, in human terms. But love and hate strike at fairies of all ranks, as do poverty and the passions of the heart. Enter Elfindom with care. Sylvia Townsend Warner’s last short stories were originally published in The New Yorker, and appeared in book form in 1977. This Handheld Classics reprint brings these sixteen sly and enchanting stories of Elfindom to a new readership, and shows Warner’s mastery of realist fantasy that recalls the success of her first novel, the witchcraft classic Lolly Willowes (1926). The foreword is by the noted US fantasy author Greer Gilman, and the introduction is by Ingrid Hotz-Davies.
- Of Cats and Elfins: Short Tales and Fantasies
4
“Sylvia Townsend Warner was one of our finest writers.” – Neil Gaiman Following the success of Kingdoms of Elfin in October 2018, this collection includes the remaining four Elfin stories along with the remarkable forgotten tales of The Cat’s Cradle Book, eighty years after its first publication. The twenty-three stories in Of Cats and Elfins encompass scholarship, black humor, the Gothic, and the bizarrely anthropomorphic cats of The Cat’s Cradle Book, which reflect Warner’s preoccupation with the dark forces at large in Europe in the later 1930s. Warner mixes fables and myths with storytelling traditions old and new to express her unease with modern society, and its cruelties and injustices. A new selection of Warner’s remaining fantasy short stories, collected for a new generation of fantasy enthusiasts and Warner fans.
J Slauerhoff
Jan Jacob Slauerhoff (1898-1936) was a ship’s doctor serving in south-east Asia, and is one of the most important twentieth-century Dutch-language writers. He is best known for his Modernist poetry, but his two novels, published in English as The Forbidden Kingdom and Adrift in the Middle Kingdom, are very popular. He died of tuberculosis in 1936.
Related to Handheld Fantasy Classics
Related ebooks
Roo and the World of Crum Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlackbeard Legacy #2 Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVincent Price Presents: Volume #03 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBruce the Fire Dog and His North Pole Friends Say Hello Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn the Way Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOMWG Oh, My Wonderful God!: A Tribute in Verse to Our Lord and Savior Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMisadventures of Adam West #10: Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrowing Up on the Farm Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOrbit: Mark Zuckerberg, Creator of Facebook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKyron and The Meadow Monster Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRookie Rescuer: Learning about God and 'First Responder' Work through Real Calls! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrit Book I: The Voices You Form Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Sonoma - Valley of the Moon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaily Dose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe YaYa Books: A Trilogy, A Tribute In English and Spanish Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwiglet: The Little Christmas Tree Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe First Extraterrestrial Signal: The Global Reaction to the Signal from the Outer Space Aliens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExtreme Rhyming Poetry: Over 400 Inspirational Poems of Wit, Wisdom, and Humor (Five Books in One) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNuggets for the Soul: Poems That Will Inspire You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGlobo Arte July 2022 Issue Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPromises: The First Chapter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHolding Forth the Word of Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFAME: Pop Stars #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJudo Girl: Silencer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLogan's Run: Aftermath #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNanny & Hank #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIsfjell Point Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlessed Days, Volume 6: Blessed Days, #6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKRISTIN MOCK: My Passionate Dance At Life! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOdyssey Presents: Anthology #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Action & Adventure Fiction For You
Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dust: Book Three of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swamp Story: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shift: Book Two of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wool: Book One of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Billy Summers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shantaram: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Count of Monte Cristo Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We, the Drowned Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Scarlet Pimpernel Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prodigal Summer: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Summary: by Rebecca Yarros - A Comprehensive Summary Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Our Town: A Play in Three Acts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bean Trees: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Darkness That Comes Before Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Timeborne: BLADE OF SHADOWS Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Grace of Kings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlawed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Most Dangerous Game Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Huckleberry Finn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5James Patterson's Alex Cross Series Best Reading Order with Checklist and Summaries Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Postman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Invasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Golden Notebook: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Handheld Fantasy Classics
76 ratings0 reviews