The King of Elfland's Daughter
core novel 1924 The King of Elfland's Daughter
Record
| First published | 1924 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.80 (9,572 ratings, collected 2026-09-11) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780345431912 |
Synopsis
The King of Elfland's Daughter, published in 1924, tells how the people of the small country of Erl, dissatisfied with being ruled only by an ordinary lord, petition their aging ruler to have his heir marry into magic so that Erl might be governed by a touch of enchantment. In response, the lord sends his son Alveric across the border into the neighboring realm of Elfland, a land where time moves differently from the mortal world, to seek out and bring back Lirazel, daughter of the King of Elfland, as his bride. Alveric succeeds in winning Lirazel and returning with her to Erl, but her adjustment to mortal life and the customs of Erl proves far from simple, as the pull of her father's enchanted realm and the incompatible natures of Elfland and the mortal world continue to shape the difficulties the couple faces together.
Where it sits
- Universe: The King of Elfland's Daughter
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Lord Dunsany
Notes
- First published 1924, G. P. Putnam's Sons. A standalone novel, widely credited (L. Sprague de Camp among others) as a direct influence on the Lord of the Rings-era generation of fantasy. Predates the Hugo Award (1953) and the World Fantasy Award (1975) by decades -- zero contemporary genre awards exist, exactly as already true for Conan the Barbarian and The Once and Future King.
Sources
- Wikipedia: The King of Elfland's Daughter
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_of_Elfland's_Daughter
← The King of Elfland's Daughter dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.