Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany

Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (24 July 1878–25 October 1957) was an Irish writer and dramatist notable for his work in fantasy and horror.

Writings

His most notable fantasy short stories were published in collections from 1905 to 1919: he had to pay for publication of the first, The Gods of Peg?na. The stories were set within an invented world, with its own gods, history and geography. His significance within the genre of fantasy writing is considerable.

Related Topics:
Fantasy - 1905 - 1919

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The following is the opening paragraph of The Hoard of the Gibbelins (first published in The Book of Wonder in 1912), which gives a good indication of both tone and tenor of Dunsany's work:

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:The Gibbelins eat, as is well known, nothing less good than man. Their evil tower is joined to Terra Cognita, to the lands we know, by a bridge. Their hoard is beyond reason; avarice has no use for it; they have a separate cellar for emeralds and a separate cellar for sapphires; they have filled a hole with gold and dig it up when they need it. And the only use that is known for their ridiculous wealth is to attract to their larder a continual supply of food. In times of famine they have even been known to scatter rubies abroad, a little trail of them to some city of Man, and sure enough their larders would soon be full again.

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