Lord Dunsany. The King of Elfland’s Daughter. London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1924. Large paper copy, one of 250, signed by the author at the Preface.
Dunsany’s masterpiece, a tale of yearning and loss. The prose calls to be read aloud, the images are sharp, and there are some very funny passages. Alveric comes to Elfland and woos the King’s daughter, Lirazel, who flees with Alveric to “the fields we know,” her diadem of ice melting as she crosses the border. Lirazel bears a son, but she can never really get the hang of ordinary human life. One day blows away with the autumn leaves, back to Elfland. Once there, she pines for the human life she knew.
No. 17.