The Mezentian Gate
novel 1958 Zimiamvia
Record
| First published | 1958 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780007578177 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
This fantasy novel chronicles the rise and consolidation of power by King Mezentius, the tyrannical ruler of Fingiswold, focusing on his methods of gaining and holding the Three Kingdoms of Fingiswold, Meszria and Rerek in sway. As the chronologically first story in the trilogy, it serves as a prequel to the other novels despite being published last.
Where it sits
- Universe: Zimiamvia
- Series: Zimiamvia core; position 3 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: E.R. Eddison
Notes
- Left substantially unfinished at Eddison's death (1945); its 1958 first edition (Curwen Press) supplies only an 'Argument' (plot summary) in place of prose for several central chapters, not a completed narrative. A 1992 omnibus (reissued by HarperCollins, 2014) incorporated further draft material found among Eddison's papers at the Bodleian Library, but the work remains fundamentally incomplete -- registered as Expanded Canon, not Core, matching this project's treatment of other genuinely unfinished author fragments.
- From the series record (Zimiamvia): Core Canon: the 2 Zimiamvian novels Eddison completed in his lifetime. Internal chronology (per Wikipedia) runs in reverse of publication order relative to the Expanded Canon's The Mezentian Gate (earliest events) -- internal chronology values reflect story order, not publication order; not resolved further.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Zimiamvia: position 3 of 3: previous A Fish Dinner in Memison (1941)
- Internal chronology, within Zimiamvia: position 1 of 3: next A Fish Dinner in Memison (1941)
Sources
← Zimiamvia dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.