A Dreamer’s Tales by Lord Dunsany
Discover the shimmering, mythical world of ‘A Dreamer’s Tales’ by Lord Dunsany and read the complete collection online for free.
Step through a gateway into the twilight realms of pure imagination with A Dreamer’s Tales, Lord Dunsany’s 1910 collection of short stories. More than mere fantasy, these tales are exquisite prose poems, dream-logic narratives set in the impossible cities, haunted wildernesses, and mythic kingdoms of Dunsany’s own invention. Here, the gods are capricious beings playing with human fate, the moon has a city of its own, and the wind carries the gossip of ancient, forgotten lands. Dunsany, a peer of the realm and a master stylist, did not write to imitate reality but to create a new one, drawing from the wellspring of ancient myth and pure lyrical invention.
This collection stands as a cornerstone of modern fantasy literature, directly inspiring writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Stories like “The Sword of Welleran,” a poignant elegy for faded heroism, “The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth,” a quest of pure symbolic power, and “Idle Days on the Yann,” a languid travelogue down a dream-river, showcase Dunsany’s unparalleled ability to evoke a sense of the ancient, the wondrous, and the melancholy. His prose is stately, rhythmic, and oracular, weaving spells with words to build landscapes that feel both utterly alien and hauntingly familiar, like memories of a world we have never known.
In an age of rigid worldbuilding and complex magic systems, A Dreamer’s Tales offers a different kind of enchantment. It is fantasy in its most essential, poetic form—a reminder that wonder lies not in explanation, but in suggestion; not in rules, but in the beauty of a perfectly crafted sentence that opens a door to elsewhere. To read Dunsany is to let the mind wander in realms where meaning is felt in the soul long before it is understood by the intellect.
On this page, you can lose yourself in these foundational dreams. We offer the complete 1910 collection for online reading, a passport to the borders of fairyland.
Book Info
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | A Dreamer’s Tales |
| Author | Lord Dunsany (Edward Plunkett) |
| Year of Publication | 1910 |
| Genre | Fantasy, Short Stories, Weird Fiction |
| Language | English (Original) |
| Legal Status | Public Domain |
| Format | Online Reading |
Read A Dreamer’s Tales Online
Let your imagination take flight. Begin your journey into Dunsany’s unique realms by exploring the first tale interactively below.
This preview offers a glimpse into a world of mythic grandeur, but the full tapestry of dreams—with all its melancholy gods, impossible cities, and haunting quests—is available in the complete collection for our subscribers.
A subscription unlocks this foundational work of fantasy and our entire library of classic speculative fiction. Traverse the landscapes that shaped the genre in a seamless digital format.
About A Dreamer’s Tales
The stories in this collection are united not by character or plot, but by tone, atmosphere, and a shared geography of the mind. Dunsany’s settings—the forgotten lands of the Yann, the city of Bethmoora, the plateau of Leng—exist in a perpetual golden hour, a time outside of time where archetypes walk and magic is a natural law.
The Architecture of Myth
Dunsany writes as if he is not inventing stories, but translating ancient myths from a culture that never was. His tales feel received, possessing the gravity and inevitability of folklore. He uses capital letters with deliberate power: the Druids, the Gods of Pegāna, the Sword, the Dream. This lends his work a ritualistic, sacred quality, elevating his fantasies to the level of parable.
Style as Sorcery
Dunsany’s prose is his greatest magic. It is rhythmic, lyrical, and richly atmospheric, often using repetition and archaic cadence to hypnotic effect. He paints with broad, vivid strokes: “The sky turned greener, the stars went out, the moon grew greyer…” His descriptions are not of physical details, but of essences and moods, inviting the reader to complete the vision with their own imagination. This style created the template for what would later be called “high fantasy” prose.
Notable Tales in the Collection
- “Poltarness, Beholder of Ocean”: A haunting story of a lone watcher on a tower and the vast, calling sea, embodying themes of obsession and cosmic indifference.
- “The Sword of Welleran”: A profound meditation on memory, legacy, and how the spirit of past heroes can inspire—or cripple—the living.
- “The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth”: A quintessential fantasy quest, where a hero seeks a legendary weapon to storm an evil wizard’s keep. It is the pure, archetypal form of the genre.
- “Idle Days on the Yann”: A dreamlike, picaresque travelogue that is less about plot and more about the sensory experience of drifting past wondrous, half-glimpsed cities.
Themes of Melancholy and Wonder
A profound, beautiful sadness permeates much of Dunsany’s work. His tales often speak of fallen gods, forgotten cities, and beauty that is perpetually receding into the past. This melancholy is not depressing, but strangely uplifting; it is the recognition of wonder’s fleeting nature that makes its capture in prose so precious. It is the literature of exquisite loss.
Why Read A Dreamer’s Tales Today?
In a world of hyper-realistic fiction, Dunsany offers a necessary cleanse for the imaginative palette. He reconnects the reader with the primal power of story as spell, as incantation. For writers and readers of fantasy, this collection is a pilgrimage site—the source of the river.
To read A Dreamer’s Tales is to practice a form of literary dreaming. It is to surrender to language that paints pictures on the inside of the skull, to visit the strange and beautiful countries that exist just on the other side of conscious thought. It is, in every sense, an escape into the sublime.
FAQ
Can I read A Dreamer’s Tales for free?
Yes, you can read the first story for free via our interactive preview. Access to the complete collection of tales requires a subscription.
Is this book similar to The Lord of the Rings?
It is a direct influence. Tolkien admired Dunsany’s mythopoetic style and his creation of a secondary world with its own deep history. The tone is more poetic and less novelistic than Tolkien, but the lineage is clear.
What is “Weird Fiction”?
A broad genre pioneered by writers like Dunsany and Lovecraft, emphasizing supernatural horror or fantasy that evokes a sense of cosmic awe, dread, and wonder, often through a poetic, atmospheric style.
Are the stories connected?
Loosely. They share a common atmosphere and sometimes reference the same invented geography (like the River Yann or the Gods of Pegāna), but each tale stands alone as a separate dream or fable.
Can I read it on my phone?
Absolutely. Our platform provides an elegant reading experience on any device, perfect for dipping into these short, luminous tales.