The Refined Reader aims to take a look at the journey to where we are as readers today. It's part history, part commentary - providing a brief, conversational summary of various aspects of our bookish past and comparing it to how it has affected us in modern times. I love history, but I am no historian, and while I plan to do my research, if there are any errors, please let me know! This is as much a learning venture for me as I hope it is for my blog visitors!
Unlike the origins of Gothic literature, Fantasy has much less clear-cut beginnings. Our first known story The Epic of Gilgamesh could be classified as a Fantasy, with other early stories fitting the bill being Beowulf, The Odyssey and The Book of a Thousand and One Nights. The need to invent stories enhanced by the unreal or the supernatural was very strongly imbued in our species it seems. It is also likely the first genre of literature since it may be the oldest.
George MacDonald has the strongest claim to being the first modern Fantasy writer with such works as Phantastes (1858) and The Princess and the Goblin (1872). MacDonald seemed inspired by fairy tales and the mystical (he was a Christian minister) to integrate the mystical and the fantastic in stories that would appeal to everyone. It is interesting to note that MacDonald's work was the first time fantasy stories in our time were seen as stories for adults as well as for children. He inspired C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien to create their complex fictional worlds and they in turn helped make the genre very popular.
Fantasy today has taken on many guises, with so many different worlds and aspects to explore and it has become a very popular and enduring genre. Which is understandable given how early on in our history we began to tell fantastical stories. I think the appeal of fantasy lies in how well it transports the reader into something very different to their own lives, but because the characters have issues and aspirations that are relatable to our own we can immerse ourselves so easily into the world.
Can you remember your first Fantasy read? If you are a fan of the genre, what aspects of it appeals to you?
Sources:
Wikipedia
Genre Fiction
George MacDonald
