Douglas A. Anderson

Published by Nodens Books. Late Reviews collects Douglas A. Anderson's reviews of older or unusual books, usually ones of a fantastical, supernatural or decadent nature, written over the last twenty-five years. "Doug Anderson's regular 'Late Reviews' column in Wormwood is a treasury of information and commentary on some of the rarest, most obscure and strangest books in our field. It is infused by Doug's shrewd and unflinching assessments; bad books are named as such, overlooked achievements are justly celebrated." -Mark Valentine, editor of Wormwood "In his wonderful 'Late Reviews' Doug Anderson boldly goes where few readers have gone before. Rather than write about the familiar classics of fantasy and supernatural literature, he explores the genre's back alleys and waste lands, rediscovering dozens of strange and strangely appealing titles, most of them half forgotten, if remembered at all. Who else has read Guy Ridley's The World of Teregor and John William Harding's A Conjuror of Phantoms and Erica Fay's The Road to Fairyland or, it would seem, the complete works of Anthony Dyllington, author of The Unseen Thing? When Doug praised the wit of Alexander de Comeau's Monk's Magic-and likened it to Mervyn Wall's The Unfortunate Fursey-I immediately went searching for a copy. Far more than just a collection of essays, Douglas A. Anderson's Late Reviews is a valuable reference, a guide for the curious reader and, not least, a source of rare literary entertainment." -Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author of Classics for Pleasure and On Conan Doyle

A new expanded edition of Tolkienâ??s most famous, and most important essay, which defined his conception of fantasy as a literary form, and which led to the writing of The Lord of the Rings. Accompanied by a critical study of the history and writing of the text.

For readers throughout the world, The Hobbit serves as an introduction to the enchanting world of Middle-earth, home of elves, wizards, dwarves, goblins, dragons, orcs and a host of other creatures depicted in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion -- tales that sprang from the mind of the most beloved author of all time, J. R. R. Tolkien. Newly expanded and completely redesigned, Douglas A. Anderson's The Annotated Hobbit is the definitive explication of the sources, characters, places, and things of J. R. R. Tolkien's timeless classic. Integrated with Anderson's notes and placed alongside the fully restored and corrected text of the original story are more than 150 illustrations showing visual interpretations of The Hobbit specific to many of the cultures that have come to know and love Tolkien's Middle-earth. Tolkien's original line drawings, maps and color paintings are also included, making this the most lavishly informative edition of The Hobbit available. The Annotated Hobbit shows how Tolkien worked as a writer, what his influences and interests were, and how these relate to the invented world of Middle-earth. It gives a valuable overview of Tolkien's life and the publishing history of The Hobbit, and explains how every feature of The Hobbit fits within the rest of Tolkien's invented world. Here we learn how Gollum's character was revised to accommodate the true nature of the One Ring, and we can read the full text of The Quest of Erebor, Gandalf's explanation of how he came to send Bilbo Baggins on his journey with the dwarves. Anderson also makes meaningful and often surprising connections to our own world and literary history -- from Beowulf to The Marvellous Land of Snergs, from the Brothers Grimm to C. S. Lewis.