A masterpiece of fantasy literature that shaped the high fantasy genre and influenced such authors as J. R. R. Tolkien and H. P. Lovecraft
After seven hundred years of being ruled by man, the Parliament of Erl is ready to be ruled by a magical lord. Obeying the immemorial custom, the lord of Erl sends his son Alveric to fetch the King of Elfland’s daughter, Lirazel, to be his bride. Alveric makes his way to Elfland, where time passes at a rate far slower than the real world, wins her hand, and they return to Erl together.
Alveric and Lirazel marry and have a son, but marriage between a mortal and a fairy princess is never simple. Lirazel struggles to adapt to the customs of humans. Torn between two worlds, Lirazel must decide whether to return to her home and live forever, or remain in Erl with her husband and son, doomed to die a mortal death. Meanwhile, the King of Elfland, missing his daughter greatly and fearing her demise, must utilize his limited sources of magic in order to get her back.
The King of Elfland’s Daughter is a love story for the ages and a fairy tale in the truest sense of the word. First published in 1924, it remains one of the most beloved novels of the genre.
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“I shall indeed be happy if this volume contributes to the rediscovery of one of the greatest writers of this century.”
— Arthur C. Clarke
“No amount of mere description can convey more than a fraction of Lord Dunsany’s pervasive charm.”
— H. P. Lovecraft“A fantasy novel in a class with the Tolkien books.”
— L. Sprague de CampLord Dunsany (1878–1957), full name Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, Eighteenth Baron of Dunsany, was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist best known for his fantasy works. He published over eighty books as well as hundreds of short stories and many successful plays and essays. Lord Dunsany lived most of his life in Ireland at Dunsany Castle and he received an honorary doctorate from Trinity College. He was also an avid chess player, and even invented an asymmetric chess variant called “Dunsany’s Chess.”
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.