Stories of the unreal, of trolls and werewolves, spells and sorcerers, and magic lands have been part of the human psyche for as long as there are records. In the present century, far from being outdated by the rise of technology and science fiction, fantasy has once more become a major literary genre expressive of the deepest feelings about humanity and its relation to the natural world. Fantasy is indeed one of the most successful of modern literary genres, as can been from the sales of Tolkien and his successors. Yet the rise of the fantasy "trilogy" has tended to obscure a long tradition of short fantasy fiction, just as enjoyable as the long books. Built on the ancient foundation of the fairy tale, but sharply distinguished from it, the fantasy story has evolved in often ephemeral and little-known magazines.

Contents:
• The Demon Pope (1888) • Richard Garnett
• The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth (1908) • Lord Dunsany
• Through the Dragon Glass (1917) • Abraham Merritt
• The Nameless City (1921) • H. P. Lovecraft
• The Wind in the Portico (1928) • John Buchan
• The Tower of the Elephant (1933) • Robert E. Howard
• Xeethra (1934) • Clark Ashton Smith
• Jirel Meets Magic (1935) • Catherine L. Moore
• The Bleak Shore (1940) • Fritz Leiber
• Homecoming (1946) • Ray Bradbury
• See You Later (1949) • Henry Kuttner
• Liane the Wayfarer (1950) • Jack Vance
• The Desrick on Yandro (1952) • Manly Wade Wellman
• The Silken-Swift... (1953) • Theodore Sturgeon
• Operation Afreet (1956) • Poul Anderson
• The Singular Events Which Occurred in the Hovel on the Alley Off of Eye Street (1962) • Avram Davidson
• The Sudden Wings (1962) • Thomas Burnett Swann
• Same Time, Same Place (1963) • Mervyn Peake
• Timothy (1966) • Keith Roberts
• The Kings of the Sea (1968) • Sterling E. Lanier
• Not Long Before the End (1969) • Larry Niven
• The Wager Lost by Winning (1970) • John Brunner
• Lila the Werewolf (1969) • Peter S. Beagle
• Johanna (1978) • Jane Yolen
• The Erl-King (1979) • Angela Carter
• Beyond the Dead Reef (1983) • James Tiptree, Jr.
• Subworld (1983) • Phyllis Eisenstein
• Bite-Me-Not or, Fleur de Fur (1984) • Tanith Lee
• The Night of White Bhairab (1984) • Lucius Shepard
• Thorn (1984) • Robert Holdstock
• Troll Bridge (1992) • Terry Pratchett

Edited by Tom Shippey