My Goodreads review of "The King of Elfland's Daughter"

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I like to read books I could never have written, and this century-old novel, in addition to being fundamental to modern fantasy, is known for its beautiful stylistic exuberance. Besides, when I was in Ireland in 2019, I toured Dunsany Castle and met the current Lady Dunsany (alas, she died in 2020 of covid).

At its heart, the novel is a simple story — boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back — but it takes place in a magical world, part of it like our own, and part of it in a domain of “twilight and dew, surrounded by the mauve and ruddy glow of the massed flowers of Elfland, beside which our sunsets pale and our orchids droop, and beyond them lay like night the magical wood. And jutting from that wood, with glittering portals all open wide to the lawns, with windows more blue than our sky on Summer’s nights; as though built of starlight; shone that palace that may be only told of in song.”

The simple story meanders to include unicorns, a witch, elves, trolls, and all manner of fantastic countryside. Elfland stands becalmed in time, wondrously strange and static in beauty, enchanting — yet not entirely enticing. Wise people do not even look in its direction. When the King of Elfland’s daughter marries the Lord of the Vale of Erl, the two parts of this wondrous world clash, and despite best intentions, they cannot coexist.

Hearts break, and sorrow has no place in Elfland. When that is finally understood, the poetic tale reaches a luminous ending. In both its style and wild imagination, the novel stands as a landmark in fantasy literature. It’s not my usual fare, but like a rich, delicate dessert, it was a treat.



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