Classic Fantasy Stories

by Farah Mendlesohn

From the eerie to the magical by way of the deeply strange, this collection is a must for fans of the hugely popular fantasy genre.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, cloth-bound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince draws on the great fairy tale tradition. Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Old Nurse gives us a taste of the Gothic whilst H.P. Lovecraft journeys into the weird. The effects of war and loss are keenly felt by Arthur Machen in his moving story, The Bowmen. And in Victorian times, children’s writers such as Edith Nesbit spin the most charming fantastical tales in stories like The Dragon Tamers.These amazing feats of imagination and many more brilliantly showcase the many facets of fantasy writing.

Genres: Fiction

424 pages, Hardcover

Published July 16, 2024

About the author

Farah Mendlesohn is a Hugo Award-winning British academic and writer on science fiction. In 2005 she won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book for The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, which she edited with Edward James.

Mendlesohn is Professor of Literary History at Anglia Ruskin University, where she is also Head of English and Media. She writes on Science Fiction, Fantasy, Children's Literature and Historical Fiction. She received her D.Phil. in History from the University of York in 1997.

Her book Rhetorics of Fantasy won the BSFA award for best non-fiction book in 2009; the book was also nominated for both Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

In 2010 she was twice nominated for Hugo Awards in the Best Related Books category.

She was the editor of Foundation - The International Review of Science Fiction from 2002 to 2007. She formerly was Reviews Editor of Quaker Studies.

Reviews

[Wouter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The problem with all collections of short stories is that some stories are great, some are awful, and many are in between. The main issue I have with this collection is, however, the title: Fantasy Stories. I would rather use the term 'Fantastical' stories as there are ghost stories, fantasy stories, magical realistic stories and some I can’t really fit into these categories.

Overall most stories are a fine read. I loved the poem"Goblin Market" being in this collection. Other stores I liked were "The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde, "The Folk of the Mountain Door" by William Morris (I have already started a novel by him thanks to this short story), and Gaskell's "The Old Nurse Story" (my favourite of the collection).

Because the stories a very different from each other you have to completely reset your reading mind. Yet, it is interesting to have this myriad of short stories about the fantastic. It expands your horizon and the majority is a joyful journey.

[Sarz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well considered selection, in a beautiful little package - gilded page edges, a foil embossed dust jacket, and a colour coordinated ribbon to keep your place.

[Victor Oanca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lot of interesting short stories but they do have sort of an old-timey flare. It's an acquired taste, I suppose.

[Hector · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine collection overall with a number of 'fairy' stories, ghost stories, and whimsical tales. Very interesting background on the authors. Would have loved to have seen a story by Lord Dunsany, and not sure why the Arthur Machen story is the unimpressive The Bowmen when The White People would have been a better choice; but excellent stories by Rabindranath Tagore (Once There Was a King) and Vernon Lee (The Doll, which is not really a fantasy story) go with the entertaining departures from fiction masters like Washington Irving, Dickens, Wilde, and E. M. Forster.

[elemsr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the stories were really good and with a great nostalgic-fantasy vibe.