Fantastic Worlds Myths, Tales, and Stories

Offers the first anthology to cover the entire scope of fantastic literature, from myths, scripture, tales of fairies and elves, to modern fiction. Discusses the uses people make of these tales and their sources in psychology and society.



As the first international anthology to cover the entire scope of fantastic narrative, Fantastic Worlds presents over fifty tales, myths, and stories, ranging from Genesis to Ovid, Hans Christian Andersen to J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe to James Thurber, and Franz Kafka to Italo Calvino. Including tales of fairies and elves, ghost stories, high fantasy, and stories of social criticism and the conflict between science and religion, this volume presents a diverse selection of writings that all share the same capacity to liberate the human spirit through the wild mental acrobatics of fantasy.