Literary Wonderlands: A Journey Through the Greatest Fictional Worlds Ever Created (Literary Worlds Series)

Literary Wonderlands: A Journey Through the Greatest Fictional Worlds Ever Created (Literary Worlds Series) by Miller, Laura. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780316316385.

A glorious collection that delves deep into the inception, influences, and literary and historical underpinnings of nearly 100 of our most beloved fictional realms. Literary Wonderlands is a thoroughly researched, wonderfully written, and beautifully produced book that spans four thousand years of creative endeavor. From Spensers The Fairie Queene to Wellss The Time Machine to Murakamis 1Q84 it explores the timeless and captivating features of fictions imagined worlds including the relevance of the writers own life to the creation of the story, influential contemporary events and philosophies, and the meaning that can be extracted from the details of the work. Each piece includes a detailed overview of the plot and a "Dramatis Personae." Literary Wonderlands is a fascinating read for lovers of literature, fantasy, and science fiction. Laura Miller is the books general editor. Co-founder of Salon.com, where she worked as an editor and writer for 20 years, she is currently a books and culture columnist at Slate. A journalist and a critic, her work has appeared in the New Yorker, Harpers, the Guardian, and the New York Times Book Review, where she wrote the "Last Word" column for two years. She is the author of The Magicians Book: A Skeptics Adventures in Narnia and editor of the Salon.com Readers Guide to Contemporary Authors.