Tam Lin
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4.3 • 10 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
MYTHOPOEIC AWARD FINALIST • A masterfully told tale that will transport you to a world where ancient legends meet modern life—with an introduction by the book's original editor, Terri Windling.
“Vividly portrays a classic tale of love that spans the border between the worlds.”—Library Journal
“Delightful . . . Dean has written a quintessential college novel, anchoring its fantastic elements in a solid, engaging reality.”—Publishers Weekly
I forbid ye maidens all
that wear gold in your hair
to travel to Carterhaugh
for young Tam Lin is there . . .
So begins the ancient Scottish ballad “Tam Lin,” about the headstrong Janet who defies Tam Lin to walk in her own land of Carterhaugh . . . and then must battle the Queen of Faery herself for possession of her lover's body and soul.
In this version of “Tam Lin,” masterfully crafted by Pamela Dean, Janet is a college student, “Carterhaugh” is Carter Hall at the university where her father teaches, and Tam Lin is a boy named Thomas Lane. Set against the backdrop of the early 1970s, imbued with wit, poetry, romance, and magic, Tam Lin has become a cult classic—and once you begin reading, you'll know why.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This delightful new entry in the Fairy Tale series, featuring children's classics refashioned for adult audiences, adapts the eponymous Scottish ballad to a Midwestern university setting. In the early '70s, scholarly Janet Carter enters Blackstock College as an English major. She and roommates Christina and Molly fall in with an attractive, often eccentric group of classics students who circle around Professor Medeous, a spectacular, enigmatic redheaded woman. The girls pair off with young male classicists, Janet beginning an affair with Nicholas Tooley, whose vast familiarity with Shakespeare and often distant approach to intimacy disturb her. When the liaison ends, she takes up with the young man formerly attached to Christina. The ghost of a pregnant student who committed suicide, mysterious late-night horseback forays led by Professor Medeous and the appearance in a list of Shakespeare's actors of the names of three of the Classics Department scholars urge Janet on a dangerous quest to save her lover. Dean ( The Whim of the Dragon ) has written a quintessential college novel, anchoring its fantastic elements in a solid, engaging reality.
Customer Reviews
Immersive and enchanting
The cozy academic world Dean creates will draw you in. As others have noted, the explicit fantasy themes only emerge clearly late in the book, but enticing hints of the uncanny (and the supernatural) appear very early and draw you into an increasing awareness of mystery. You also come to care very much about the characters, not just the protagonist. Highly recommend to any fan of modern fantasy and folklore.