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Baron Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett Dunsany
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KING OF ELFLAND DAUGHTER Mass Market Paperback – 12 Dec. 1976

by Lord Dunsany (Author)
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  1. Print length
    241 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Ballantine Books
  4. Publication date
    12 Dec. 1976
  5. ISBN-10
    0345255232
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0345255235
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 12 Dec. 1976
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 241 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345255232
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345255235
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 136 g

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Baron Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett Dunsany

Baron Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett Dunsany

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
603 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the book's story quality, describing it as a masterpiece of fantasy with a whimsical style. They find it to be a good read, with one customer noting its beautiful rhythmic prose.

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Story qualityReadability
11 customers mention ‘Story quality’8 positive3 negative

Customers praise the book's story quality, describing it as a masterpiece of fantasy with flowery prose and whimsical elements, with one customer noting how the author builds up vivid images of fantastic worlds.

"...about how these two realms differ from each other, in rather flowery prose, typical of Dunsany, and the main storyline is easily available to access..." Read more

"...It is a lovely evocation of a fantasy world, coupled with such longing for the dear and familiar in "the fields we know"...." Read more

"At first I was really into this. Then the writing became monotonous because of the author's tendency to start a lot of sentences with "And...."..." Read more

"...say that the writing is in so much of the book beautifully lyrical and poetic but the deliberate archaism of the language can be somewhat wearying...." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Readability’6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a good read, with one customer noting its beautiful rhythmic prose.

"...is much written about how these two realms differ from each other, in rather flowery prose, typical of Dunsany, and the main storyline is easily..." Read more

"...The prose has a beautiful rhythmic quality with its recurrences of phrase...." Read more

"...A good read but I won't return to it; unlike of Dunsany's many short dream-stories of gods and men, and his tales of war and many other things;..." Read more

"Loved this book. A wonderful story...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • DRock 181
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of Fantasy and Short Stories
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 August 2024
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    A collection of masterpiece from the highly influential but unfortunately seldom discussed Lord Dunsany.
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  • Rod Blocksidge
    4.0 out of 5 stars The world's best fairy story...possibly....
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 September 2023
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    I have been a reader of Lord Dunsany's works for many years, but until now, not this one! It's possible that the tale may have had an indirect effect on other fantasy writer's works, like Tolkien and CS Lewis, but in itself, it could be classed as an adult-ish fairy story. Elfland lies of the borders of space and time, in relation to Earth, or as Dunsany constantly says, 'the fields we know'. There is much written about how these two realms differ from each other, in rather flowery prose, typical of Dunsany, and the main storyline is easily available to access on line, but central to everything is that time passes very differently in the two realms. The passage of time as we know it now on the Earth, whereas Elfland is, essentially, timeless, and is controlled by a mighty magician, the King. The people of Erl, an Earthly village, want to be controlled by a magical lord, and the whole story revolves around this, both the main and the sub-plots, and this complexity makes the entire tale one of the most important in fantasy literature, although it's not the most easy to read! Anyone interested in fantasy, of whatever sort, must read this tale though, and despite Dunsany's writing style, it can hold you spellbound...!
    3 people found this helpful
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  • S. M.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy at its best
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2015
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    This is a favourite book of mine, so I was delighted to find it still in print. It is a lovely evocation of a fantasy world, coupled with such longing for the dear and familiar in "the fields we know". The prose has a beautiful rhythmic quality with its recurrences of phrase. Recommended to anyone who longs for the unattainable, but knows the danger of attaining it. SM
    One person found this helpful
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  • Pensato
    3.0 out of 5 stars The Origins Of Fantasy
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2012
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    I think I read this book a bit too slowly and in too piece-meal a fashion to have got the best out of it but at 240 pages long I think it could have been pruned to about 160 pages without losing too much. That is not to say that the writing is in so much of the book beautifully lyrical and poetic but the deliberate archaism of the language can be somewhat wearying. It is very much a fairy tale and as such the characters are little more than sketched in. Lurulu the troll has probably the most personality.

    I would certainly not deny 'The King Of Elfland's' place in fantasy literature and you can easily detect its influence still in the wonderful 'Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell'.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • F. Rodenburg
    5.0 out of 5 stars A classic and must-read for fiction lovers.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2013
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    I'm a big fan of Lord Dunsany having read several of his books: I love his beautiful prose, his wonderful story-telling abilities and the way he builds up images of his fantastic worlds af if there is nothing strange about these being possible, plausible even.
    I had lost this title in the attic, having bought and read it some 40 years ago, so I re-bought and re-read it, and I think I love it even more now than I did back then. I'm even thinking of translating it into Dutch to read to my class.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • DV
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good read but I prefer his many short stories.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2016
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    At first glance simple story, but at its heart is the age-old conflict between Changelessness and the human wish for Change; or Progress, here exemplified by the (possibly) adjacent lands of Elfland and Erl; the latter being a pre-industrial country populated by benign rulers and industrious peasants very reminiscent of the world of Malory but now all too familiar to readers of `fantasy' ; Dunsany however was among the first in the modern era and is probably the true pioneer of the genre, influenced by Morris and Co, no doubt, but also by his clear distaste of cities and all things industrial (though no doubt enjoying their benefits in his life as a landed gentleman). His experiences in the Great War perhaps also coloured his views of the twentieth century. Some of his inventions are quite original, and his jolly, leaping Trolls are quite a refreshing change from those of Tolkien or Pratchett. But often he is carried away by the calm of the countryside and overlong descriptive passages, while his upbringing shows in his principal human characters: for example Orion has a deep empathy with dogs while revelling in using them to chase and kill other beasts. Of the two magical beings which came from Elfland, one, the Troll, he made his servant, and the other, the Unicorn he hunted and killed. Dunsany's world is that seen from the back of an expensive horse

    A good read but I won't return to it; unlike of Dunsany's many short dream-stories of gods and men, and his tales of war and many other things; which I can read again and again.

    Underlying the tale, like in many of his shorter stories is the conflict b Change and Changelessness, and the restless desire of men to have something New.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Sacred Sparta.
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is something that is of a different age, ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 June 2015
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    This is something that is of a different age, and that in itself describes the quiet grandeur of this work.
    One person found this helpful
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  • M. R. Cox
    2.0 out of 5 stars There's a reason this book was out of print for so long...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 March 2012
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    'Charming', 'whimsical' and 'poetic' are some of the adjectives that can be used to describe this work; 'gripping', 'moving' and 'satisfying' are not. I don't doubt "The King etc" has a place in the development of fantasy but that place is a footnote. Or rather, it proves that Dunsany is not the exception to Gaiman's rule, that the British aristocracy are usually poor writers. There's a lot of cod-medieval description, not much plot, and then it all peters out. If you like the thought of Morris Dancers and Baldric singing "Hey nonny nonny" you may enjoy it. On the other hand, like Blackadder, you may want to give that man a whipping.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Fernando Zanini
    5.0 out of 5 stars Qualidade da entrega e do produto.
    Reviewed in Brazil on 19 October 2021
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    Produto entregue dentro da data estimada e em perfeitas condições.
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  • primrose
    5.0 out of 5 stars good book
    Reviewed in Canada on 5 September 2015
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    Good book. It is in very good condition! Ships quickly. It is a must read for any fan of fantasy literature
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  • VANMACKELBERG Pascaline
    2.0 out of 5 stars Fantazy traditionnelle. Peu de péripéties
    Reviewed in France on 20 December 2024
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    Je n'ai pas aimé l'histoire trop étirée et sans vraie intrigue entre terre et pays elfique. Personnages informes en caractères. Beaucoup de descriptions de paysages.
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  • Kathleen Dawson
    4.0 out of 5 stars quite good
    Reviewed in Australia on 28 September 2024
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    I enjoyed this. It was written in 1924 by Lord Dunsany. The language is quite flowery, but that was much more common at the time. It is the story of a mortal going in search of magic and finding it, only to not appreciate it until it is gone. He then must go in search of it again.
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  • N K
    4.0 out of 5 stars but a nice read otherwise
    Reviewed in India on 27 February 2015
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    This is a classic and one of the earliest in the fantasy genre. The only drawback was that the print was rather small, but a nice read otherwise.
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