''Kingdoms of Elfin'' is a short story collection by English writer Sylvia Townsend Warner, published by the

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...

in 1977, a year before her death. Many of the stories appeared originally in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' during the 1970s. The stories are an interconnected series of satirical

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

stories detailing the manners of the fairy courts of Europe.

Darrell Schweitzer Darrell Charles Schweitzer (born August 27, 1952) is an American writer, editor, and critic in the field of speculative fiction. Much of his focus has been on dark fantasy and horror fiction, horror, although he does also work in science fictio ...

, "Warner, Sylvia Townsend", icin ''St. James Guide To Fantasy Writers'', edited by

David Pringle David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of '' Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective whi ...

.London, St. James Press, 1996; (pp 589-90). The collection was Warner's last published work. The stories range across various traditional lands of Europe and beyond, including

Brocéliande Brocéliande, earlier known as Brécheliant and Brécilien, is a legendary enchanted forest that had a reputation in the medieval European imagination as a place of magic and mystery. Brocéliande is featured in several medieval texts, mostly r ...

in Brittany, Elfhame in Scotland,

Mynydd Preseli The Preseli Hills or, as they are known locally and historically, Preseli Mountains, (Welsh: ''Mynyddoedd y Preseli / Y Preselau'' , ) is a range of hills in western Wales, mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The range stret ...

in Wales, the

Forest of Arden Arden is an area located mainly in Warwickshire, England, with parts in Staffordshire and Worcestershire, and is traditionally regarded as extending from the River Avon to the River Tame. It was once heavily wooded, giving rise to the name 'F ...

and Bury St Edmunds in England, and as far away as the Peris of Persia.

The collection includes sixteen stories, fourteen of which originally appeared in ''The New Yorker''. Endpaper maps are by Anita Karl. * "The One and the Other" * "The Five Black Swans" * "Elphenor and Weasel" * "The Blameless Triangle" * "The Revolt at Brocéliande" * "The Mortal Milk" * "Beliard" * "Visitors to a Castle" * "The Power of Cookery" * "Winged Creatures" * "The Search for an Ancestress" * "The Climate of Exile" * "The Late Sir Glamie" * "Castor and Pollux" * "The Occupation" * "Foxcastle"

Reception

In a review of '' The Dictionary of Imaginary Places'' by

Alberto Manguel Alberto Manguel (born March 13, 1948, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-Canadian anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist, editor, and a former Director of the National Library of Argentina. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such ...

and Gianni Guadalupi, Naomi Mitchison described ''Kingdoms of Elfin'' as "the last and most brilliant of Sylvia Townsend Warner's books". Thomas M. Disch included ''Kingdoms of Elfin'' in his list of "modern classic" works of fantasy.Thomas M. Disch, "13 Great Works of Fantasy from the Last 13 Years", in ''

Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine ''Twilight Zone'' literature is an umbrella term for the many books and comic books which concern or adapt ''The Twilight Zone'' television series. Comics Gold Key Comics published a long-running ''Twilight Zone'' comic that featured the likene ...

'', July–August 1983. TZ Publications, Inc. (p. 61)

described ''The Kingdoms of Elfin'' as containing "memorable flashes" and said that the stories "reveal new complexities on rereading".

Notes

1977 short story collections Fantasy short story collections Satirical books Fairies and sprites in popular culture Chatto & Windus books Viking Press books {{1970s-fantasy-story-collection-stub

Contents

Reception

Notes