Lord Dunsany (1878–1957)
Author of The King of Elfland's Daughter
About the Author
Though during his lifetime the Irish nobleman Lord Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, the 18th Baron Dunsany, was perhaps regarded as a minor talent, his somber short fantasies and novels had a significant impact on the development of fantasy and horror fiction. In real life, Dunsany was as show more interesting and versatile as anyone about whom he wrote. He was an African big-game hunter, a soldier in both the Boer War and World War I, and was wounded in the 1916 Irish Easter Rebellion. He was also the national chess champion of Ireland. Dunsany's first short story collection, The Gods of Pegana, was published in 1905 and was soon followed by other fantasy anthologies, including Time and the Gods (1906) and The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories (1908), among others. These stories are distinguished by their elegant, fairy tale settings and Dunsany's unique, macabre sense of humor. Dunsany's novels, such as The King of Elfland's Daughter (1924) and The Charwoman's Shadow (1926), are considered fantasy classics. Although Dunsany wrote prodigiously and with great versatility throughout his life, many regard his early, highly stylized short fiction to be his best work, and his most important. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Copyright by Morrall-Hoole Studios, 1919
(LoC Prints and Photographs Division,
LC-USZ62-103850)
(retouched to remove writing)
(LoC Prints and Photographs Division,
LC-USZ62-103850)
(retouched to remove writing)
Series
Works by Lord Dunsany
The Collected Jorkens, Vol. 1: The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens and Jorkens Remembers Africa (2005) 79 copies, 1 review
The Collected Jorkens, Vol. 2: Jorkens Has a Large Whiskey and The Fourth Book of Jorkens (2005) 66 copies
The Collected Jorkens, Vol. 3: Jorkens Borrows Another Whiskey, The Last Book of Jorkens, Uncollected Tales (2005) 62 copies
Lost Tales, Volume I: 1909-1915 5 copies
The Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller, and of the Doom That Befell Him [short story] (1911) 4 copies
Ireland: A Book of Photographs with an Introduction — Introduction — 3 copies
Lost Tales, Volume IV 3 copies
Lost Tales, Volume III: 1910-1954 3 copies
Lost Tales Vol. VI: 1909-1954 3 copies
Modern Short Plays Second Series — Contributor — 2 copies
Wandering songs 2 copies
The Sirens Wake 2 copies
Worlds of Fantasy & Horror Volume 1 Number 3, Summer 1996 (Weird Tales No. 311) (1996) — Contributor — 2 copies
King of Dreams 1 copy
The Quest [poem] 1 copy
The Mist [short story] 1 copy
While the sirens sleep 1 copy
The Char Woman's Shadow 1 copy
Essays in the Arts 1 copy
Edition) 1 copy
ダンセイニ卿少年少女作品集成 1 copy
ダンセイニ卿書評集 愛蘭貴族がいざなう読書の旅 1 copy
芸術論 1 copy
Dunsany Mythos 1905-1906 1 copy
The Book of Jorkens 1 copy
Other Stories 1 copy
The Lord Dunsany’s Collected Works: The Gods of Pegana,Time and the Gods, A Dreamer's Tales, Fifty-one… (2016) 1 copy
Ireland L'Irlande Irland 1 copy
Le Vent du Nord 1 copy
The Men of Baldfolk 1 copy
"The Watch-Tower" 1 copy
Donnellan lectures 1943 1 copy
Lord Dunsany Super Pack: The Gods of Pegana; Time and the Gods; The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories; A Dreamers… (2015) 1 copy
Dunsany, Lord *** 1 copy
Lost Tales: Volume II 1 copy
The Sayings of Limpang-Tung (The God of Mirth and of Melodious Minstrels) [short story] (1905) 1 copy
Associated Works
Spells of Enchantment: The Wondrous Fairy Tales of Western Culture (1991) — Contributor — 578 copies, 4 reviews
75 Short Masterpieces: Stories from the World's Literature (1961) — Contributor — 305 copies, 1 review
Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy, Volume 12: Faeries (1991) — Contributor — 209 copies, 4 reviews
Murder on the Menu: Cordon Bleu Stories of Crime and Mystery, Volume 1 (1984) — Contributor — 199 copies, 2 reviews
101 Years' Entertainment: The Great Detective Stories 1841-1941 (1941) — Contributor — 104 copies, 1 review
The Prentice Hall Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy (2000) — Contributor — 94 copies, 2 reviews
Great Weird Tales: 14 Stories by Lovecraft, Blackwood, Machen and Others (2011) — Contributor — 58 copies
Our Haunted Shores: Tales from the Coasts of the British Isles (2022) — Contributor — 46 copies, 2 reviews
From Isles of Dream: Visionary Stories and Poems of the Celtic Renaissance (1993) — Contributor — 41 copies
The Mystery Hall of Fame: An Anthology of Classic Mystery and Suspense Stories (1984) — Contributor — 32 copies, 1 review
The Ghost of Fear and Others: H. P. Lovecraft's Favorite Horror Stories Vol. 1 (2014) — Contributor — 26 copies
Le livre d'or de la Science-Fiction : Le manoir des roses (1978) — Contributor — 20 copies, 1 review
My Talks with Dean Spanley [2008 film] — Original book — 18 copies
Swords and Sorcerers: Stories from the Worlds of Fantasy and Adventure (2002) — Contributor — 17 copies
Homefront Horrors: Frights Away from the Front Lines, 1914-1918 (2016) — Contributor — 14 copies, 1 review
Masters of Shades and Shadows: An Anthology of Great Ghost Stories (1978) — Contributor — 11 copies, 1 review
20 Masterpieces of Fantasy Fiction Vol. 1: Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Tarzan of the… (2021) — Contributor — 8 copies
Voor en na middernacht : vierendertig beroemde spook- en griezelverhalen (1949) — Contributor — 7 copies
Flora Curiosa: Cryptobotany, Mysterious Fungi, Sentient Trees, and Deadly Plants in Classic Science Fiction and Fantasy (2008) — Contributor — 6 copies
Modern Short Stories — Contributor — 3 copies
Anthropologica Incognita: Wild Men, Strange Apes, and Fantastic Races in Classic Science Fiction and Fantasy (2009) — Contributor — 2 copies
幻想文学 (34) 特集 ケルト幻想文学誌 妖精の幸ふ古代へ — Contributor — 1 copy
小説幻妖 壱 (1) 新春 妖女コレクシオン — Contributor — 1 copy
希望の友 1973年11月号 — Contributor — 1 copy
PEGANA LOST vol.14 — Contributor — 1 copy
大うそつきトニイ・カイトの恋、他一篇 — Author — 1 copy
火の後に: 片山廣子翻訳集成 — Contributor — 1 copy
幻想と怪奇 1973年 04月号 (第1巻第1号) 魔女特集 — Contributor — 1 copy
Stories for girls — Contributor — 1 copy
SFファンタジイ大全集 (別冊奇想天外 10) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Dunsany, Lord
- Legal name
- Lord Dunsany, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett
- Birthdate
- 1878-07-24
- Date of death
- 1957-10-25
- Burial location
- St Peter and St Paul Churchyard, Shoreham, Kent, England, UK
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
Ireland - Country (for map)
- England, UK
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Place of death
- Dublin, Ireland
- Cause of death
- appendicitis
- Places of residence
- Dunsany Castle, County Meath, Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Dunstall Priory, Shoreham, Kent, England, UK - Education
- Eton College
Cheam School
Royal Military College, Sandhurst - Occupations
- peer
sportsman
hunter
chess player
novelist
dramatist (show all 10)
autobiographer
essayist
short-story writer
military officer - Relationships
- Ledwidge, Francis (army comrade and protege)
Plunkett, Horace (uncle)
Longford, Frank Pakenham (nephew by marriage)
Powell, Lady Violet (niece by marriage)
Pakenham, Edward (nephew by marriage) - Organizations
- Coldstream Guards, British Army
House of Lords
Authors' Society
Shakespeare Reading Society
University of Athens - Awards and honors
- 18th Baron of Dunsany
Fellow, British Academy
Fellow, Royal Geographical Society
Fellow, Royal Society of Literature
Fellow, Irish Academy of Letters
Honorary member, Institut Historique et Heraldique de France (show all 7)
Harmsworth Literary Award - Agent
- Curtis Brown
- Short biography
- Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (1878-1957); Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist, notable for his work in fantasy published under the name Lord Dunsany
Members
Discussions
The King of Elfland’s Daughter LE in Folio Society Devotees (August 13)
THE DEEP ONES: "The Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller" by Lord Dunsany in The Weird Tradition (January 11)
THE DEEP ONES: "The House of the Sphinx" by Lord Dunsany in The Weird Tradition (January 3)
THE DEEP ONES: "The Death of Pan" and "The Tomb of Pan" by Lord Dunsany in The Weird Tradition (May 2023)
THE DEEP ONES: "Bethmoora" by Lord Dunsany in The Weird Tradition (August 2022)
THE DEEP ONES: "The Probable Adventure of the Three Literary Men" by Lord Dunsany in The Weird Tradition (February 2016)
THE DEEP ONES: "King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior" by Lord Dunsany in The Weird Tradition (April 2013)
THE DEEP ONES: "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth" by Lord Dunsany in The Weird Tradition (February 2013)
THE DEEP ONES: "The Sword of Welleran" by Lord Dunsany in The Weird Tradition (March 2012)
THE DEEP ONES: "The Hashish Man" by Lord Dunsany in The Weird Tradition (February 2012)
Reviews
El país del Yann by Baron Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett Dunsany
Cuentos imaginativos muy bien escritos (Y con excelentes traducciones) No sorprende la influencia que tuvo Dunsany en autores posteriores. Me han gustado especialmente «En donde suben y bajan las mareas» y «Carcasona».
Cuentos imaginativos muy bien escritos (Y con excelentes traducciones) No sorprende la influencia que tuvo Dunsany en autores posteriores. Me han gustado especialmente «En donde suben y bajan las mareas» y «Carcasona».
My one book purchase on the 2024 Worldcon trip - I found this in a charity bookstore in Yorkshire.
More Jorkens clubland tall stories. Rather dated now and read very much of their time with period racist attitudes (although more paternalistic than Edgar Wallace's Saunders stories).
OK, but read them with post WWII eyes not modern eyes.
More Jorkens clubland tall stories. Rather dated now and read very much of their time with period racist attitudes (although more paternalistic than Edgar Wallace's Saunders stories).
OK, but read them with post WWII eyes not modern eyes.
This review is for ISBN 9781857989892, the Gollancz Fantasy Masterworks edition of Time and the Gods.
The title of this book is misleading - this is actually an omnibus of Dunsany's first six short story collections.
1. The Gods of Pegana
2. Time and the Gods
3. The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories
4. The Book of Wonder
5. A Dreamer's Tales
6. The Last Book of Wonder
Having read Lovecraft's Dream Cycle stories years before I ever got around to Dunsany, I have to say that I can see the strong resemblance. I'd go so far as to say that Lovecraft was deliberately trying to copy Dunsany's style in many of those stories. (He failed, to his benefit. Lovecraft's writing style is distinct enough that it shines through even his pastiches).
These are all excellent collections, overall. The quality is very uneven - some stories are superb works of imagination (The Fortress Unvanquishable Save for Sacnoth, the Hoard of the Gibbelins, Idle Days on the Yann), some are dull to the point where I had to skim them quickly just to get through them and move along (The Bride of the Man-Horse, the House of the Sphinx). But there are more good ones than bad ones. Universally these stories show a wildly active and unique imagination.
Unfortunately, despite apparently receiving the blessing of the Dunsany estate, this edition does *not* include the original illustrations by Sidney Sime, which is a shame.
The first collection, the Gods of Pegana, is easily the worst set (and Gollancz put it last, presumably because the editor knew it too), while I think The Sword of Welleran is probably the best overall.
I'm glad these were put back into print, as they really deserve to be in anyone's fantasy library. Previously your best chance was tracking down expensive Modern Library editions from the 40's.… (more)
The title of this book is misleading - this is actually an omnibus of Dunsany's first six short story collections.
1. The Gods of Pegana
2. Time and the Gods
3. The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories
4. The Book of Wonder
5. A Dreamer's Tales
6. The Last Book of Wonder
Having read Lovecraft's Dream Cycle stories years before I ever got around to Dunsany, I have to say that I can see the strong resemblance. I'd go so far as to say that Lovecraft was deliberately trying to copy Dunsany's style in many of those stories. (He failed, to his benefit. Lovecraft's writing style is distinct enough that it shines through even his pastiches).
These are all excellent collections, overall. The quality is very uneven - some stories are superb works of imagination (The Fortress Unvanquishable Save for Sacnoth, the Hoard of the Gibbelins, Idle Days on the Yann), some are dull to the point where I had to skim them quickly just to get through them and move along (The Bride of the Man-Horse, the House of the Sphinx). But there are more good ones than bad ones. Universally these stories show a wildly active and unique imagination.
Unfortunately, despite apparently receiving the blessing of the Dunsany estate, this edition does *not* include the original illustrations by Sidney Sime, which is a shame.
The first collection, the Gods of Pegana, is easily the worst set (and Gollancz put it last, presumably because the editor knew it too), while I think The Sword of Welleran is probably the best overall.
I'm glad these were put back into print, as they really deserve to be in anyone's fantasy library. Previously your best chance was tracking down expensive Modern Library editions from the 40's.… (more)
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 373
- Also by
- 177
- Members
- 9,083
- Popularity
- #2,648
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 149
- ISBNs
- 665
- Languages
- 15
- Favorited
- 72
