It is in a manner the rise of realism that ensured this, for as Maureen Duffy indicated this era preserved fairy tales as they had been told for several hundreds of years, a form that has remained in use still today.
Although these collectors of tales may not have contributed new ideas, only adapted context and style to fit their readership, their work was invaluable in preserving oral tales that may have been lost. (31-2) Bull War for the Oaksīull’s character remembers the childhood fairy tales and the stories of Shakespeare, but Bull actually draws on the older traditions of fairy tales. These two, with their changing shapes and their offhand cruelties, had the roots in horror movies. Elegant Oberon and Titania, silly Puck – Shakespeare was no help, either. And the two before her were nothing like Rumpelstiltskin or Cinderella’s fairy godmother. That was all she could remember about fairies, and as she tried desperately to recall the ones she’d heard or read, she realised she knew of few with fairies in them. In fact, Emma Bull in War for the Oaks has her character Eddi, when confronted by the presence of Fae, reflect:įairy tales. This action has allowed the traditional tales to remain in the public eye and continue to be a source for fantasy writers. Like Ovid, what Perrault and d’Aulnoy achieved, and later the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, is collect together old folk-lore and fairy-tales and publish these works for posterity. The fairy-tale was not originally intended for children, but rather for sophisticated adult readers, yet Perrault chose to write for children and is often credited as the founder of the modern fairy-tale. Image titled ‘They overran the house without loss of time’. Although held up as the turning point for the movement of popular fantasy publication, it was merely one step in the rising popularity of fantastic stories that emerged from the Age of Reason (1685 to 1815) to today. Tolkien, but Lord of the Rings did not succeed in isolation. Fantasy as we know it today can be back tracked to the popularity and rise of J.R.R. It remains one of the most popular genre categories in publishing today. Fantasy literature is a diverse, multilayered creature that draws on stories from across human history. From the early mythologies of Classical Antiquity to reflecting the social changes of the Renaissance and the Middle Ages, to the social morality stories that align realism and mythology in the Age of Reason, all the way to the birth of modern Fantasy and its myriad of forms. Fantastic Inspiration, Rise of the Fantasy Novel: Drawing from the Age of Reason to Today in your fantasy writingįantasy writing draws from a plethora of sources. Fantasy Writing in the Age of Reason to Today Gandalf.