A delightfully self-aware classic and a must for all fantasy lovers!
Set in a fairy-tale version of medieval Spain, the story follows Ramon Alonzo’s initiation to the “Dark Arts” with a magician in order to procure the gold necessary for his sister’s dowry. He befriends his master’s charwoman, an old, despairing figure who has given up her shadow in exchange for immortal life. Ramon vows to help her while staying true to his initial purpose of helping his sister who, as it turns out, is willing to embrace her shadows in order to choose her own destiny…
With his flowing, enchanting style, Lord Dunsany (author of The King of Elfland’s Daughter) questions the value of the material versus the spiritual, the balance of light and darkness, and offers a hymn to the written word.
