The Magic Land and its environs
39.99 €
Out of stock
The Magic Land and its environs
39.99 €
Nikolai Epple is a philologist and translator, a specialist in the history of English literature, and a laureate of the Enlightener Prize.
The popular science book "The Magic Land and its Neighborhood" is a collection of essays about English writers of the XIX-XXI centuries, whose works are usually attributed to such genres as fairy tales, novels for children, and fantasy novels. However, here these authors appear to the reader inscribed in the tradition of literature of the Magic Land. By talking about allusions and reminiscences, by identifying the links between fiction and historical and linguistic reality, Epple sees English literature of the Faerie Land as a conversation between a small circle of people who know each other quite well. Macdonald, Carroll, Graham, Milne, Chesterton, Williams, Lewis, Tolkien, Pullman, Pratchett, Rowling, Clarke - all of them are familiar in life or through books, learning from each other, "playing" and polemicizing with each other. Thus MacDonald persuaded Carroll to write down the tale of Alice; Chesterton was one of the most perceptive commentators on Carroll's absurdity, and Tolkien was a careful reader of MacDonald; Milne, Lewis, Pratchett marveled at Kenneth Graham's The Wind in the Willows; Rowling loved Narnia as a child and counts Tolkien's books among her most important reading experiences. These authors have a truly "elvish skill" (as Tolkien calls it) of creating a Secondary World, imbued with magic and mystery, from the shards of Primary Reality: historical events, cultural phenomena and language, personal encounters and literary experiences. Their Fantasy is born of reason, and absurdity is based on logic. Therefore, the so-called "fairy tales" of the English masters are not an escape from reality and a path to escapism, but, on the contrary, a way to comprehend the true order of things and get closer to Reality. The edition is decorated with photographs of English writers, illustrations of their works, reproductions of graphics and paintings, manuscripts and covers of the first editions.
The popular science book "The Magic Land and its Neighborhood" is a collection of essays about English writers of the XIX-XXI centuries, whose works are usually attributed to such genres as fairy tales, novels for children, and fantasy novels. However, here these authors appear to the reader inscribed in the tradition of literature of the Magic Land. By talking about allusions and reminiscences, by identifying the links between fiction and historical and linguistic reality, Epple sees English literature of the Faerie Land as a conversation between a small circle of people who know each other quite well. Macdonald, Carroll, Graham, Milne, Chesterton, Williams, Lewis, Tolkien, Pullman, Pratchett, Rowling, Clarke - all of them are familiar in life or through books, learning from each other, "playing" and polemicizing with each other. Thus MacDonald persuaded Carroll to write down the tale of Alice; Chesterton was one of the most perceptive commentators on Carroll's absurdity, and Tolkien was a careful reader of MacDonald; Milne, Lewis, Pratchett marveled at Kenneth Graham's The Wind in the Willows; Rowling loved Narnia as a child and counts Tolkien's books among her most important reading experiences. These authors have a truly "elvish skill" (as Tolkien calls it) of creating a Secondary World, imbued with magic and mystery, from the shards of Primary Reality: historical events, cultural phenomena and language, personal encounters and literary experiences. Their Fantasy is born of reason, and absurdity is based on logic. Therefore, the so-called "fairy tales" of the English masters are not an escape from reality and a path to escapism, but, on the contrary, a way to comprehend the true order of things and get closer to Reality. The edition is decorated with photographs of English writers, illustrations of their works, reproductions of graphics and paintings, manuscripts and covers of the first editions.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author