The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1924). The Irish writer Lord Dunsany wrote over sixty books, including short story collections, mysteries, plays, essays, an autobiography, and several novels, of which, unquestionably, The King of Elfland’s Daughter is his best. Evocative and wildly inventive, his prose has influenced many writers, including H. P. Lovecraft and Jack Vance. I know when I began reading this novel, I was forever and completely enthralled by Dunsany’s language. For years afterward, every bit of writing I put my hand to was not-so-very-subtly influenced by his lyricism.

Here the reader finds Alveric, the prince of the Vale of Earl, who is sent by his father, the king, into Elfland so that when he returns it will be with some bit of magic that will enrich the lives of the mundane people who live within the fields we know. The witch, Zironderel, gifts the prince with a magic sword made from lightning bolts gathered from under cabbages in her garden, on the high land where the thunder rolls. In due course, after winning through adventure after adventure, he does return with the Elf King’s daughter, Lirazel, and soon everyone in his kingdom will know the coming of too much magic into their lives.

—Charles Vess.