DUNSANY, Edward Plunkett, Lord.

£3,750 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The King of Elfland's Daughter. First edition, limited issue, number 218 of 250 copies signed by Dunsany on the preface and Sidney H. Sime on the frontispiece. This copy additionally has a loosely inserted manuscript note signed by the illustrator. This fantastic adventure novel contains "many stylistic brilliances" as it tells of a "quest for a dream and the place of poetry in life" (Bleiler).The note, dated Nov 14. 06, is addressed to "Smith": "Send me the story and I will read it, and write to Miss Connell. I knew Mease but slightly, but he mentioned the story to me once at the Savage. Give my regards to Broadway. Yours sincerely, Sidney H. Sime".Although the recipient of the letter remains unidentifiable, Sime was a member of the Savage Club, a gentleman's club in London named after the poet Richard Savage, whose members included several famous artists and writers.Sime illustrated ten of Dunsany's books, which "gave Sime, in Rossetti's phrase, a perfect opportunity for 'allegorizing on one's own hook'". He stayed with Dunsany at his castle in Ireland while illustrating each work, "where he proved a highly entertaining guest" (ODNB).Though now recognized as one of the greatest works of fantasy literature, the work received very little praise on its first release. It was only when Ballantine Books re-issued it in their Adult Fantasy series in 1969 that the novel was re-evaluated, with writers such as L. Sprague de Camp inviting comparisons with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings a

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