A study and bibliography of modern fantasy novels and stories, concentrating on books that have taken on somewhat classic proportions, but examining others as well. Chapter one defines fantasy as a type of modern literature, establishing certain set subgenres, using terminology derived from J.R.R. Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories" and Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism. Chapter two is a historical overview of fantasy from George MacDonald and William Morris to the present. The bibliographical guide consists of approximately one thousand annotated entries, evaluating the works and placing them in their appropriate subgenres ... Four appendices list fantasies by subgenre, by year of appearance, and by awards given to them. There is also a discussion, with examples, of the current state of fantasy illustration.

Contains updated and revised sketches on nearly 800 of the most widely read authors and illustrators appearing in Gale's Something about the author series.