Folio’s fabulous centenary edition of The King of Elfland’s Daughter, a founding text of the fantasy genre by Lord Dunsany, features an introduction by Erin Morgenstern, a foreword by Neil Gaiman and original artwork by Julie Dillon. Limited to 500 numbered copies, this first ever fully illustrated edition has been signed by both the introducer and the illustrator.
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‘Every detail is so perfect from the slipcase to the endpapers and Julie's illustrations are phenomenal, the whole thing is exquisite and I'm so honored to have played a part in it.’
Erin Morgenstern
Journeying beyond ‘the fields we know’ to the ageless realm of Elfland, a young prince must win the heart of Lirazel, the King of Elfland’s daughter – but the laws of time and nature work strangely between these two worlds, offering a warning to those who seek magic too readily. This centenary edition celebrates a founding novel of the fantasy genre – one whose prose and poetry, whose unicorns and witches and trolls, would inspire authors from J.R.R Tolkien to Ursula K. Le Guin.
Quarter-bound in indigo leather blocked with silver foil, this superb edition features eight original colour illustrations, along with stunning endpapers depicting a unicorn hunt, by multiple Hugo and Locus award-winning fantasy artist Julie Dillon, who also contributes a striking print of the Princess of Elfland. An exclusive introduction by Erin Morgenstern and a foreword by Neil Gaiman complete this grand and dreamlike fairy tale for adults. Strictly limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, this pillar of the fantastic, an inspiration for the whole fantasy genre, has been signed by both artist and introducer on a letterpress-printed limitation tip.
PRODUCTION DETAILS
Limited to 500 hand-numbered copies
Letterpress printed limitation tip signed by the introducer and the artist
Quarter-bound in leather blocked in silver foil with printed and blocked cloth sides
Set in Barbou with Mason Serif as display
248 pages of text printed on Abbey Pure paper
Frontispiece and 8 illustrations printed on Natural Evolution paper
Endpapers printed with a design by the artist on Stardream silver paper
Silvered pages edges
Ribbon marker
Cloth-covered printed and blocked slipcase
10˝ x 6¾˝
BEFORE TOLKIEN THERE WAS DUNSANY
‘An astonishingly beautiful book. It might have been brought here from (in Dunsany's lovely phrase) beyond the fields we know.’
Neil Gaiman
Written by Anglo-Irish author and playwright Lord Dunsany (the pen name of Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, the 18th Baron Dunsany), The King of Elfland’s Daughter became a major influence in fantasy literature, inspiring writers throughout the 20th century and beyond from Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, to Lovecraft, Gaiman and Le Guin. Dunsany’s distinctive combination of lyrical prose and mythic storytelling is a tone perfectly captured by Julie Dillon’s ethereal artwork, including spellbinding images for this edition’s endpapers and frontispiece, and a cover design blocked with swirling silver and metallic blue. Presented in a moonlight-blue slipcase adorned with gleaming stars and a portrait of Lirazel, this centenary edition of The King of Elfland’s Daughter is a fitting tribute to a novel that defined a literary genre.
BIOGRAPHIES
About Lord Dunsany
Lord Dunsany (1878–1957) was a prolific novelist, playwright and author of short stories and a pioneering figure in modern fantasy literature. Born into a wealthy Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, Dunsany studied at Eton and Sandhurst and fought in the Boer War and the First World War. He taught in Greece for a time, before settling on his estate in Kent. Dunsany was deeply involved in the Irish Literary Revival, promoting and supporting the work of his fellow writers. His best-known fictions involve imagined lands with a complex pantheon of deities – remarkable fantasy stories from a time before the genre even had a name.
About Julie Dillon
Julie Dillon is an illustrator from the Pacific Northwest, whose clients include major book publishers such as Simon & Schuster, Tor, Penguin and HarperCollins. Since graduating in fine arts from Sacramento State University in 2005 her work has won numerous awards, including a Hugo for best professional artist, as well as Locus and British Fantasy awards for best artist. For The Folio Society she has illustrated Lord Dunsany’s The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1912, Folio 2025) and The Song of Achilles (2011, Folio 2024) by Madeline Miller.
About Erin Morgenstern
Erin Morgenstern is a writer and artist whose debut, The Night Circus (2011, Folio 2025), won the Locus Award for Best First Novel as well as an Alex Award from the American Library Association, and was translated into more than a dozen foreign languages; it was named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 best fantasy books of all time. Morgenstern is the author most recently of The Starless Sea (2019). She was raised in Massachusetts and studied theatre at Smith College; she now lives in the Berkshires.
About Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is the author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. Notable works include the groundbreaking series Sandman and the novels Good Omens (1990, in collaboration with Terry Pratchett), Stardust (1999), American Gods (2001, The Folio Society 2017), Anansi Boys (2005, The Folio Society 2019) and Neverwhere (1996, The Folio Society 2022).
Reviews Powered By
Average Score for 13 Review(s)
Too few illustrations and what there were are a bit film influenced and cartoonish.
Review by
susan biddiss
on 1st September 2024
Enchanting fairytale. Delightful book.
Review by
MICHAEL SAEGESSER
on 10th August 2024
Rare title for equal value.
Review by
DUSTY HARNISH
on 3rd August 2024
It’s a real book.
Review by
Kevin Wouters
on 30th May 2024
Wonderful edition. I bought because I am a Dunsany collector. The only quibble I have is that I would have liked them to include Lin Carter's old introduction instead of the new one by Neil Gaiman. But I am glad that I got his signature.
Review by
Giovanni Carmine Costabile
on 28th May 2024
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