From an innovative tale by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to influential works by H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and H. G. Wells, this anthology traces the rise of modern fantasy during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Linked by the concept of dreams and imagination, these twenty-three tales were created by writers who inspired storytellers such as J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and other master fantasists.
Featured stories include a fable by Edgar Allan Poe, a tall tale by Lafcadio Hearn, and Alfred Tennyson's evocative journey to Camelot in "The Lady of Shalott." A gripping tragedy by Edith Nesbit, "The Poor Lovers" is reprinted here for the first time since its initial publication. Other selections include an allegorical fairy tale, "The Golden Key," by George MacDonald; an episode from William Morris's retelling of the Icelandic epic Völsunga Saga; and a memorable chapter, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Anthologist Mike Ashley offers an informative preface and brief introductions to the stories about the authors' roles in the development of modern fantasy.
Dover Original.

Table of Contents for Dreams and Wonders: Stories from the Dawn of Modern Fantasy

Preface Sources The New Paris by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Sir Bertrand, A Fragment by Anna Letitia Barbauld
The Mines of Falun by E. T. A. Hoffmann
The Life of Dreams by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Siope - A Fable by Edgar Allan Poe
The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The Death of Fafnir by William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson
The Golden Key by George MacDonald
The Story of Willie and Fancy by Lucy Lane Clifford
The Poor Lovers by Edith Nesbit
The Fountain of Gold by Lafcadio Hearn
The Potion of Lao-Tsze by Richard Garnett
Charon Makes a Discovery by John Kendrick Bangs
The Adventure of the Snowing Globe by F. Anstey
The Magic Mirror by Charles Aken Fairbridge
The Riddle by Walter de la Mare
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Kenneth Grahame
Inside-Out: The Story of Bunder-Runder, the Jailbird by Laurence Housman
Tales of Two Thieves by Lord Dunsany
Celephais by H. P. Lovecraft
Under the Moons of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Through the Dragon Glass by A. Merritt
The Door in the Wall by H. G. Wells