Sumario: | "Transcending arguments over the definition of fantasy literature, [this book] introduces a ... new system of classification for the genre. Utilizing nearly two hundred examplkes of modern fantasy, [the] author ... uses this system to explore how fiction writers construct their fantastic worlds. Mendelsohn posits four categories of fantasy ... that arise out of the relationship of the protagonist to the fantasy world. Using these sets, Mendelsohn argues that the author's stylistic decisions are then shaped by the inescapably political demands of the category in which they choose to write. Each chapter covers at least twenty books in detail, ranging from nineteenth-century fantasy and horror to extensive coverage of some of the best books in the contemporary field. ..."--Back cover
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