The Big Book of Classic Fantasy

From Ann and Jeff VanderMeer—esteemed editors of The Big Book of Science Fiction and high scholars of the fantastic—comes a globe-spanning anthology that unearths the origins of fantasy fiction. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL.From the fairy tales we first heard as children, fantasy stories have always been with us. They illuminate the odd and the uncanny, the wondrous and the fantastic: all the things we know are lurking just out of sight—on the other side of the looking-glass, beyond the music of the impossibly haunting violin, through the dark trees of the forest. Other worlds, talking animals, fairies, goblins, demons, tricksters, and mystics: these are the elements that populate a rich literary tradition that spans the globe.In this collection, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer explore the stories that shaped our modern idea of "fantasy." There are the expected pillars of the genre: the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Mary Shelley, Christina...