The world needs more wholesome literature for young people. True, the classics offer us a wealth of truth and beauty, but every time I visit a bookstore, I am discouraged by the contemporary fiction in the YA section. Perhaps this is why I was so refreshed by Daughter of Arden: Exile. Based on the Grimm’s … Continue reading Daughter of Arden: Exile
Tag: Fantasy
Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
When I was 14, I took my massive volume of Andersen’s fairy tales and challenged myself to read it from beginning to end. By the time I reached “The Snow Queen,” I had read over 20 tales and was beginning to grow tired of them, but this one had a magic of its own. No … Continue reading Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
Spring Book Tag!
Hello! I hope you are all having a happy spring! Where I live, tulips buds are swelling, violets are blooming in secret corners, and trees are gently dusted with green. The days are warm and summer is just around the corner. Spring is my favorite time of year, and when I saw Heather’s “Spring Has … Continue reading Spring Book Tag!
The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad – EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!
Have you ever read the legends of King Arthur? Or Sir Galahad? In one story it is told how, during his quest for the Holy Grail, Sir Galahad "rode for a long while in a wild forest and had many adventures of divers sorts, of which no account hath been given. . ." 1 Whenever … Continue reading The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad – EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!
The Flaming Peacock (Original Story)
Once upon a time, there was a young man. He lived with his father and his mother in a small townhouse. One morning, as he started off to class, the car broke down. Try as he might, it would not start. Just as the lad was ready to give up, an old woman came up the road and asked ...
Tolkien and Hopkins: The Beauty of this World
Though J. R. R. Tolkien and Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote in different eras and genres, they were brothers in thought and art. Tolkien was an English professor and myth-maker, while Hopkins was a Jesuit priest and Victorian poet, but they had much in common, such as their use of the sound of words and Anglo-Saxon … Continue reading Tolkien and Hopkins: The Beauty of this World
Theoden’s Charge (Original Poem)
As a challenge, I recently decided to choose a passage from a work of classic literature and re-write it in verse. Not too surprisingly, I chose J. R. R. Tolkien's The Return of the King -- the last paragraph from "The Ride of the Rohirrim." Such was Tolkien's skill that this bright scene has stamped … Continue reading Theoden’s Charge (Original Poem)
Anglo-Saxon and Old Icelandic in Middle Earth
J. R. R. Tolkien loved mythology and languages, and desired to be a myth-maker himself. He set about crafting Middle Earth, a world complete with its own tongues and tales. He knew that in order to become good at something, one must learn from the masters that came before. So, he borrowed many elements from … Continue reading Anglo-Saxon and Old Icelandic in Middle Earth