by Carlie M A Cullen
As Josh and I both
write in the fantasy genre, I thought it would be interesting to look at the
history and origins of Modern Fantasy, and how the genre developed. So for this
month’s post we look back to those early days when the roots of fantasy were
mere tendrils in the publishing world; next month we’ll look at how fantasy
grew into the powerhouse genre it is today.
Fantasy is one of the most popular genres
of books today, yet it wasn’t until the 1950’s, when J. R. R. Tolkein published
The Lord of the Rings series, that fantasy truly entered mainstream publishing.
The modern fantasy genre first took root in
the eighteenth century, fuelled by fantastical travellers’ tales, finally
unfurling and gaining recognition as a distinct genre in the latter half of the
nineteenth century. Notable authors such as Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol) and William Makepeace
Thackeray (The Rose and the Ring)
included elements of the fantastic in their novels, but they were still classed
as fairy tales. However, it was around this time, Hans Christian Andersen initiated
a new style of fairy tale.
It wasn’t until the publication of Phantastes, by Scottish author, George
MacDonald, that fantasy was accepted as a genre for anyone other than children;
Phantastes is widely acknowledged to
be the first fantasy novel ever written for adults. Interestingly, MacDonald
was a major influence on J. R. R. Tolkein and C. S. Lewis.
1st
edition cover of Phantastes
Another major fantasy author of this era was William Morris. In many respects, Morris’s writing was an important milestone in the history of fantasy; while other authors wrote of dream worlds or foreign lands, Morris’s stories were the first to be set in an entirely fantasy world of his own invention. This began a new trend of writing in the genre.
Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar Wilde were really
the forefathers of dark fantasy. Using fantastical elements in horror tales,
they greatly influenced the likes of H. P. Lovecraft, and as such, created a
separate branch or sub-genre of fantasy.
However, it wasn’t until the beginning of
the twentieth century that fantasy fiction started to reach larger audiences.
Also published around this time were several classic children’s fantasies, like
J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, Lewis
Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and L.
Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
At this time, fantasy was still more accepted in juvenile literature; the
terminology for the genre still wasn’t settled and as such, fantasies of this
era were still termed fairy tales. Even as late as 1937 when The Hobbit was published, fairy tale was
still being used to classify these types of novels.
J R R Tolkein’s hand-drawn First ‘printed’ cover in 1937
cover for The Hobbit
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Carlie M A Cullen is the author of the novel Heart Search, blogger extraordinaire and loyal friend to many -both human and mythical.
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Carlie M A Cullen is the author of the novel Heart Search, blogger extraordinaire and loyal friend to many -both human and mythical.
