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Verlyn Flieger
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There Would Always Be a Fairy Tale: More Essays on Tolkien Paperback – December 17, 2017

by Verlyn Flieger (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 22 ratings
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Devoted to Tolkien, the teller of tales and co-creator of the myths they brush against, these essays focus on his lifelong interest in and engagement with fairy stories, the special world that he called faërie, a world they both create and inhabit, and with the elements that make that world the special place it is. They cover a range of subjects, from The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings and their place within the legendarium he called the Silmarillion to shorter works like “The Story of Kullervo” and “Smith of Wootton Major.”

From the pen of eminent Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger, the individual essays in this collection were written over a span of twenty years, each written to fit the parameters of a conference, an anthology, or both. They are revised slightly from their original versions to eliminate repetition and bring them up to date. Grouped loosely by theme, they present an unpatterned mosaic, depicting topics from myth to truth, from social manners to moral behavior, from textual history to the micro particles of Middle-earth.

Together these essays present a complete picture of a man as complicated as the books that bear his name―an independent and unorthodox thinker who was both a believer and a doubter able to maintain conflicting ideas in tension, a teller of tales both romantic and bitter, hopeful and pessimistic, in equal parts tragic and comedic. A man whose work does not seek for right or wrong answers so much as a way to accommodate both; a man of antitheses.

Scholars of fantasy literature generally and of Tolkien particularly will find much of value in this insightful collection by a seasoned explorer of Tolkien’s world of faërie.

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  1. Print length
    280 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The Kent State University Press
  4. Publication date
    December 17, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.66 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    160635308X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1606353080
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"There Would Always Be a Fairy Tale celebrates an expertise brought to its height by long and careful study, ultimately revealing as much about Flieger and her dedication as it does Tolkien and his." ― Fafnir: Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research

About the Author

Verlyn Flieger’s books on Tolkien include Splintered Light, A Question of Time, Interrupted Music, and Green Suns and Faërie (all published by The Kent State University Press); an edition of his short story Smith of Wootton Major; and most recently his earliest short story, The Story of Kullervo. With Carl Hostetter she edited Tolkien’s Legendarium and with Douglas A. Anderson Tolkien’s essay On Fairy-stories. With David Bratman and Michael D. C. Drout she edits the yearly journal Tolkien Studies. Her edition of Tolkien’s poem The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun is forthcoming in November 2016. She has published two fantasy novels, Pig Tale and The Inn at Corbies’ Caww; an Arthurian novella, “Avilion,” in The Doom of Camelot; and two short stories, “Green Hill Country,” in Seekers of Dreams, and “Igraine at Tintagel,” in Amazing Graces

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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Kent State University Press (December 17, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 280 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 160635308X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1606353080
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.66 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 22 ratings

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Verlyn Flieger

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
22 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

John D. Cofield
5.0 out of 5 stars Finding New Beauty In Middle-earth
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2017
Verified Purchase
Verlyn Flieger is among the most prominent of Tolkien scholars. The author of four earlier books of Tolkien essays, she has co-edited several other volumes as well as the yearly journal Tolkien Studies, and she has also written several works of fantasy fiction. She is an eminent scholar, but her writing is approachable to both academics and general readers. No lover of Middle-earth should be unfamiliar with her work.

There Would Always Be A Fairy Tale is made up of 19 essays divided into four subgroups. Most of the essays are quite short, and the entire book is only 228 pages plus extensive Acknowledgements, Notes, and Works Cited sections. These essays were written over a period of about twenty years, and thus parallel and sometimes refer to some of the most recent publications of such posthumous Tolkien works as The Fall of Arthur and The Story of Kullervo. I enjoyed all of the essays very much, finding most interesting those grouped in Part II on Sub-Creation, especially one on time-travel in The Lost Road and The Notion Club Papers and the provocatively titled (though accurate) "Politically Incorrect Tolkien." I also liked several essays in Part III "Arresting Strangeness" which discuss ents, trees, fays, and corrigans; as well as some in Part IV dealing with Tolkien's French and Celtic connections, the connections between Numenor, Atlantis, Lyonnesse, and other drowned lands, and on Tolkien's long standing interest in The Kalevala.

I've read and enjoyed Tolkien's books for nearly fifty years, yet Flieger (as she always does) opened my eyes to much that had never occurred to me before. There Would Always Be A Fairy Tale will have a prominent place in my library near Tolkien's own books. I can offer no higher praise than that.
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Gerard C. Klug
5.0 out of 5 stars another wonderful work
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2022
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Ms. Flieger again delivers insight, informed clear writing, and a deep understanding of the legendarium as few others can. I will continue to dig deep into JRRT’s work and follow her lead.
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Nadia
5.0 out of 5 stars Insuperabile
Reviewed in Italy on May 8, 2019
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Rischierò di dire banalità, ma Verlyn Flieger (insieme a Tom Shippey) si riconferma una delle letture di critica tolkieniana più lucide, stimolanti e sapienti che abbia mai incontrato. Non resta che attendere con ansia la prossima pubblicazione!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2018
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Only arrived ten minutes ago, and now in my pending pile!!
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Jeffrey D. Shaffer
2.0 out of 5 stars Feels more like "thinking aloud" than actual analysis...
Reviewed in Japan on June 4, 2018
Verified Purchase
I'm sorry, but I simply could not stand this book! I realize each "essay" was actually a talk given on varying topics. But even taking each "talk" separately, they have the feel of someone rambling or thinking aloud. There's the general question, some background information, some follow-up questions, and yet not conclusion! No real discovery or revelation. Just random musings upon shallow things.

As I stated in a previous partial-review, parts of it feels like she doesn't even really understand Tolkien -- especially his views on Christianity vs religion, and she most definitely does NOT understand the full Christian view of death (and how Tolkien can call it a "gift" in his novels). Which makes it feel more like Japanese literature of the mid 20th century... like Natsume Soseki's "Kokoro" or Junichiro Tanizaki's "Some Prefer Nettles" where in you get a great feel for a problem and a situation, but NO RESOLUTION and NO CONCLUSION!
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