Fifty-One Tales

In Fifty-One Tales, Lord Dunsany, one of the founding voices of modern fantasy, distills entire worlds into brief, powerful parables. Each of these poetic micro-stories—often no more than a page or two—taps into timeless themes: the nature of gods and dreams, the vanity of kings, the trickery of time, and the wonders (and dangers) of imagination.

Blending myth, mysticism, irony, and cosmic vision, Dunsany’s tales evoke the grandeur of ancient fables and the wit of modern allegory. These short works have inspired generations of writers—from Tolkien and Lovecraft to Neil Gaiman—for their lyrical power and mythopoeic ambition.