Publisher's Synopsis
This work examines the social and historical contexts of the influential stories: "The Wood Beyond the World"; "The Lord of the Rings"; and "The Mists of Avalon". It argues that all stories are the product of their historical, political, and cultural moments, and in seeking to prove this conviction the author provides such a context for fantasy itself, situating its roots in the medieval romance form and tracing the form's development. The book provides a revisionary examination of modern fantasy that demonstrates the genre's ongoing political and social relevance even (or especially) in the face of contemporary Western culture's technological reality.
