Queen Victoria's Book of Spells

by Ellen Datlow (editor), Terri Windling (editor), Kelly Lintz, Audible Studios

Genres: Fantasy Anthologies & Collections; Anthologies

Synopsis

"Gaslamp fantasy", or historical fantasy set in a magical version of the nineteenth century, has long been popular with readers and writers alike. A number of wonderful fantasy novels, including Stardust by Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and The Prestige by Christopher Priest owe their inspiration to works by nineteenth-century writers ranging from Jane Austen, the Brontes, and George Meredith to Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and William Morris. And, of course, the entire steampunk genre and subculture owes more than a little to literature inspired by this period. Queen Victoria's Book of Spells is an anthology for everyone who loves these works of neo-Victorian fiction and wishes to explore the wide variety of ways that modern fantasists are using nineteenth-century settings, characters, and themes. These approaches stretch from steampunk fiction to the Austen-and-Trollope inspired works that some critics call "fantasy of manners", all of which fit under the larger umbrella of gaslamp fantasy. The result is 18 stories by experts from the fantasy, horror, mainstream, and young adult fields, including both best-selling writers and exciting new talents such as Elizabeth Bear, James Blaylock, Jeffrey Ford, Ellen Kushner, Tanith Lee, Gregory Maguire, Delia Sherman, and Catherynne M. Valente, who present a bewitching vision of a nineteenth-century invested (or cursed!) with magic.

Release date: March 19, 2013

Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

Print pages: 352

Sample

QUEEN VICTORIA'S BOOK OF SPELLS
Table of Contents

Preface Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling 000
Introduction: Fantasy, Magic, and
Fairyland in Nineteenth-Century England Terri Windling 000
"Queen Victoria's Book of Spells" Delia Sherman 000
"The Fairy Enterprise" Jeffrey Ford 000
"From the Catalogue of the Pavilion
of the Uncanny and Marvelous,
Scheduled for Premiere at the
Great Exhibition (Before the Fire)" Genevieve Valentine 000
"The Memory Book" Maureen McHugh 000
"La Reine d'Enfer" Kathe Koja 000
"For the Briar Rose" Elizabeth Wein 000
"The Governess" Elizabeth Bear 000
"Smithfield" James P. Blaylock 000
"The Unwanted Women of Surrey" Kaaron Warren 000
"Charged" Leanna Renee Hieber 000
"Mr. Splitfoot" Dale Bailey 000
"Phosphorus" Veronica Schanoes 000
"We Without Us Were Shadows" Catherynne M. Valente 000
"The Vital Importance of the Superficial" Ellen Kushner and Caroline Stevermer 000
"The Jewel in the Toad Queen's Crown" Jane Yolen 000
"A Few Twigs He Left Behind" Gregory Maguire 000
"Their Monstrous Minds" Tanith Lee 000
"Estella Saves the Village" Theodora Goss 000
About the Authors 000
Recommended Reading 000

Copyright © 2013 by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling