I first read about Lord Dunsany – I am happy to report his full name was Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett – in a collection of Arthur C. Clarke’s non-fiction. In an early essay, Clarke describes going to see Dunsany, a beloved fantasy and science fiction author, when Clarke was young and Dunsany, who was born in 1878, was already getting on a bit. There is a moment in this essay that has stuck with me.
Clarke is getting one of his books signed. “I took with me a copy of his fantasy The Charwoman’s Shadow…which he duly autographed with a sweeping DUNSANY running right across the page; it was the only time I ever saw anyone use a quill pen and then sprinkle the result with fine sand to dry the ink.” That is wonderful, but re-reading the piece this morning I am delighted to see that Dunsany also corrected a mistake in the text. “‘The Country Towards Moon’s Rising’ was transformed into ‘The Country Beyond Moon’s Rising.'”
I tried to get into Dunsany shortly after reading that. His books were hard to come by at the time and the only printings I could find were cheap and unpleasant – if Dunsany had tried to sign these, his autograph would have bled through from the first page to the last. But also this: Dunsany is a writer of serious whimsy – more on this in a bit – and serious whimsy is something you have to be in a certain mood to enjoy.
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