Top 25 Best Pre-Tolkein Fantasy Books

The King Of Elfland's Daughter

by Dunsany, Lord

The King of Elfland's daughter tells the tale of a human prince who is dispatched by his father to woo and wed the elf princess of a mystical land.Why it's on the listLord Dunsany created a world that featured a few set...

The Princess And The Goblin

by Macdonald, George

This classic is written in a similar manner as Brother's Grimm and is a magical fairy tale about an independent, yet innocent, eight-year-old princess who discovers that her mysterious great-grandmother lives in the atti...

Conan The Barbarian (Conan The Cimmerian)

by Howard, Robert E.

Conan – the name conjures up images of swords, bare chests, sweat, blood and lots of furs (like a non-campy version of Dolf Lungren's He-Man). It's hard to believe that Conan is more than 100 years old.Howard created the...

Weird Tales Magazine

by Krimes, Kurtis

Weird Tales had a seminal impact on Fantasy and Science Fiction. First published in March 1923, it was a pulp magazine aimed at readers who would enjoy "the weird, the bizarre, the unusual" and other topics that the more...

Fafhrd And The Gray Mouser

by Leiber, Fritz

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are the titular characters of a collection of sword-and-sorcery stories. Originally they were created as more human counterpoints to larger than life characters like Tarzan and Conan.characters...

The Broken Sword

by Anderson, Poul

The Broken Sword tells the story of a human baby stolen at birth and raised by elves. It is a rock-solid bit of writing and a truly fantastic dark fantasy that borrows quite strongly from the myths and legends of the Nor...

The Call Of Cthulhu And Other Weird Stories

by Lovecraft, Howard Phillips

Lovecraft's tales of cosmic dread, including the title story where something ancient sleeps beneath the sea.

This is one of those books that if you give any plot lines – you give away the story. Suffice it to say that this dark and enticing set of stories are perfectly written and are an excellent way of getting to know Lovecra...

The Once And Future King (The Once And Future King)

by White, T. H.

An Arthurian retelling and is also very much a coming of age story.

This classic is the Arthurian tale standard by which modern iterations are measured. Or blatantly ripped off ('cough' Disney 'cough'). While the first section is a bright and comical depiction of Arthur as a familiar...

Jirel Of Joiry

by Moore, C. L.

Jirel of Joiry was a character that featured in a series of short stories in Weird Tales. Ruling her own fictional kingdom somewhere in medieval France, her stories usually revolve around her quests to take revenge on th...

Dracula

by Stoker, Bram

Though this book is not the first instance of vampires in literature, it is a defining story. It features more than just chilling storytelling; elements of horror, the gothic novel, sexual conventions, colonialism/post-colonialism, and immigration are all woven into this classic epistolary tale.

Dracula will always reign as the true master vampire, the one creature in horror and fantasy who can simultaneously seduce and terrify. And don't let yourself think this is an archaic story just because the novel was pub...

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland & Through The Looking-glass

by Carroll, Lewis

A story that needs no introduction! The classical tale of Alice, who falls down a rabbit hole and into Wonderland. Filled with nonsense rhymes, songs, and puns, this is a 150-year-old story that is as entertaining today...

Peter Pan

by Barrie, J. M.

What can I say to introduce a character as renowned as Peter Pan? Originally Peter Pan was an ensemble character in "The Little White Bird". Eventually, Peter Pan grew up a little (he was an infant and became a young b...

Lud-in-the-mist

by Mirrlees, Hope

Lud-in-the-Mist is one of the genuinely overlooked classics, a striking piece of fantasy that, for almost 100 years, has been ignored and forgotten. Amazingly, when reading it, you wouldn't realize its age. The book has...

Beowulf

Beowulf is the oldest surviving long poem, written by an anonymous poet. It is acknowledged as being one of the most important works in English literature. Beowulf tells the story of a monster named Grendel and his mot...

The Picture Of Dorian Gray

by Wilde, Oscar

This cautionary tale of morals, psychology, and poetic justice has become one of the greatest fantasy and horror works in recent history. After a young man makes a Faustian wish, he discovers that he will remain forever...

A Midsummer Night's Dream

by Shakespeare, William

Arguably Shakespeare's best-known comedy, A Midsummers Night's Dream contains a tremendous amount of fantasy, romance, and folly. The story concerns itself largely with four individuals who, while entwined in a love tr...

One Thousand And One Nights

Aladin, Sinbad, Genies, Flying Carpets, Ali Baba… One Thousand and One Nights has left us with some enduring characters. The European version was first introduced (in French) in 1707. For most of the people of the time,...

The Ship Of Ishtar

by Merritt, Abraham

This thrilling adventure story is jammed with as much true fantasy as any other writers 3 book series. It's such a pity that this book is not praised more. The story revolves around a British man who is carried away i...

The Complete Fairy Tales

by Macdonald, George

If C.S. Lewis and Tolkien say that Macdonald is their master and that they build on his foundation in every story they write… The Complete Fairy Tales must be a seminal read. His stories are full of weird creatures, m...

The Iliad / The Odyssey

by Homer,

Gripping listeners and readers for more than 2 700 years, The Iliad is the story of the Trojan War and Achilles. Written by an author we call Homer, both books have been translated into English many times over many years...

Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales

by Grimm, Jacob

First of all – I'm not talking about the Disney version here. I'm talking about the real Grimms Fairy Tales – filled with rape (Sleeping Beauty), murder (Pinocchio), self-mutilation (Cinderella) and torture (Snow White)....