Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Fantasy literature
(1,408 words)

1. Characteristics of the genre

The emergence of a text type of fantastical narrative literature can be traced from the 18th century, and the genre has attained a high profile. Notable authors of world literature, such as Horace Walpole, C.S. Lewis, Ludwig Tieck, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Edgar Allan Poe, Théophile Gautier, H.P. Lovecraft, and J.R.R. Tolkien are among its exponents. Interest in fantasy literature today is not confined t…

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Simonis, Annette, “Fantasy literature”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_025498>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20180126



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