Review: The King of Elfland's Daughter

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a 4-star review. I think that is a good estimate of my experience with this book.

This book is one of the early examples of fantasy writing. It tells the story of a village that thinks it will be better off if they experience magic. The villagers hold a parliament to identify this desire. The leaders express this desire to their king who promptly takes steps to bring magic to the village.

He sends his son to Elfland; a magical land that borders the human lands. The son makes the trip, "rescues" the titular King of Elfland's Daughter, and brings her back. She never really fits in with the humans of the village but stays long enough to give birth to a son.

The daughter is eventually called home to Elfland. She leaves her husband and their son. When her husband goes in search of Elfland, he can no longer find it as the King of Elfland has magically withdrawn his kingdom from contact with humans.

The search for Elfland and the titular daughter eventually brings more magic to the village. All of a sudden, the humans don't fit in with their village which is being overrun by magic. Then eventually hold another parliament to determine that maybe they need to get rid of the magic.

I'm reminded of Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory deciding that she does not want a boat like that one after all.

The book offers several different views of characters wanting something very badly and then discovering that they have to make sacrifices to fulfill that desire. Sometimes the sacrifices are worthwhile. Sometimes they aren't.

This is a very quiet story. There aren't any earth-shattering/world-ending consequences. But the people of the village and the inhabitants of Elfland all have to learn a bit about life outside of their narrow experience.

Being written in 1924, the language is not exactly what a modern reader will immediately enjoy. It takes some time to become accustomed to the era of English language being used.

Language aside, this is an enjoyable tale that is worth the reader's time.

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