Lord Dunsany (1897-1957) Born in London of an Anglo-Irish family that could trace its roots back to the twelfth century, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany, was a globetrotter, sportsman, hunter, poet, playwright and chessplayer. He wrote The Gods of Pegana in 1904, which became an unexpected succes d'estime and was followed by several collections which have been an inspiration for modern fantasy writers.
A fine, strange, almost forgotten novel ... the writing is beautiful ... This is the real thing. It's a rich red wine, which may come as a shock if all one has had so far has been cola. So trust the book. Trust the poetry and the strangeness, and the magic of the ink, and drink it slowly Lord Dunsany's is immensely significant as well as enjoyable even today A fantasy novel in a class with the Tolkien books We find that he has but transfigured with beauty the common sights of the world Dunsany's masterpiece ... that may well be the same as saying it could be the very best fairy story ever written' It's not simply the beauty of the language, the astute eye for character, the hint of humor, or even the spell of legendry and wonder, but Dunsany's unique combination of all of the above. Even read today, with all the fantasy novels I've read, his work remains fresh and exuberant - Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century