Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) was a true Renaissance Man (poet, author, playwright, chess champion, nobleman, pistol shooting champion, veteran of three wars, big game hunter, professor, animal rights activist) who had a profound influence on such writers as disparate as J.R.R. Tolkien, Neil Gaiman,(check out Stardust) Michael Moorcock, Evangeline Walton, David Eddings, H.P. Lovecraft, and even Robert E. Howard.

I had never read Lord Dunsany before. I decided to finally start reading his work and see if it held up to the wonderful things that other writers had said about the author. It did. Dunsany possessed a lyrical fluid verbosity with prose which reminds you of Shakespeare or King James.

In TKED Dunsany made a compelling tale of the problems that a mixed marriage between human and elf might bring. In Elfland Time does not exist or moves at such a slow state that it is virtually nullified. There is no rush to do anything. Moments of bliss can literally last for eternity. While Time stands still in Elfland it rushes in the mortal world. A human who spends a short time in Elfland may return to the mortal word and find that a decade or more has passed. Similarly an elf or other denizen of Elfland may come to our world and be frightened by the constant change of seasons, people aging, sunsets and moonrises and all of the other things which humans take for granted.

An elf has no religion and sees no reason why she shouldn't worship the stars. In TKED you get an idea of how far love would have to stretch when a human would have to find the words to explain to an elf that laughing and singing at funerals or asking advice from goats is not proper behavior.

This mixed marriage and several other events are set into motion when the Parliament of Erl decides that their home area needs to be better known. They tell their aged lord that nothing personal but they would prefer to be ruled by a magic lord. The noble thinks this a silly idea but must follow the rule of Parliament. He sends his son Alveric on a quest to bring back the King of Elfland's daughter, marry her and then produce an heir who will have magic. Alveric is a dutiful son and follows his father's instructions.

It's what happens after the wedding of human and elf-princess and birth of the new heir to the human kingdom, which is completed within the first few chapters, that makes this book unusual and worth reading. TKED is a great little novel about the perils of inviting magic in your life, the glory and madness of true love, and how sometimes you should be careful what you ask for.