2024 Reading Summary: May (+ Writing Update)
Completed reads for May:
The King of Elfland’s Daughter, by Lord Dunsany
The House on the Borderland, by William Hope Hodgson
The Book of Wonder (collection), by Lord Dunsany
Fifty-One Tales (collection), by Lord Dunsany
Magna Carta (1215)
The Creole Village, by Washington Irving
Tales of Wonder (collection), by Lord Dunsany
Tales of Three Hemispheres (collection), by Lord Dunsany
Book of Marvels, by Phlegon of Tralles
Long-lived Persons, by Phlegon of Tralles
Olympiads (fragments), by Phlegon of Tralles
The Charwoman’s Shadow, by Lord Dunsany
The Golden Key, by George MacDonald
The Light Princess, by George MacDonald
The Giant’s Heart, by George MacDonald
The Carasoyn, by George MacDonald
Port in a Storm, by George MacDonald
Papa’s Story, by George MacDonald
Life of Apollonius, by Philostratus
History of the Roman Empire since the Death of Marcus Aurelius, by Herodian of Antioch
The Priapeia
The Book of Am-Tuat
The Book of Gates
The Egyptian Heaven and Hell, by E.A. Wallis Budge
The Shipwrecked Sailor, by Anonymous
The Tale of Horus and the Pig, by Anonymous
The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, by Anonymous
The Story of Sinuhe, by Anonymous
The Satire of the Trades, by Anonymous
The Tale of the Two Brothers, by Anonymous
Egyptian Love Poetry (collection), by Anonymous
Stanza the Third: Mehy Poem in P. Chester Beatty I, by Anonymous
King Neferkare and General Sasenet, by Anonymous
A Ghost Story, by Anonymous
The Mouse as Vizier, by Anonymous
The Tale of a Herdsman (fragment), by Anonymous
The Wax Crocodile [Westcar Papyrus], by Anonymous
The Story of the Green Jewel [Westcar Papyrus], by Anonymous
Djedi the Magician [Westcar Papyrus], by Anonymous
The Birth of the Royal Children [Westcar Papyrus], by Anonymous
The Taking of Joppa, by Anonymous
Truth and Falsehood, by Anonymous
The Tale of the Garden of Flowers (fragments), by Anonymous
Wenamen’s Journey, by Anonymous
The Literary Letter of Wermai, by Anonymous
Princess Ahura: The Magic Book, by Anonymous
The Tale of the Doomed Prince, by Anonymous
The Bentresh Stela, by Anonymous
Prince Khamuas and Si-Osiri, by Anonymous
New Kingdom Love Poetry (collection), by Anonymous
Phlegon is the Hansen translation. The MacDonald stories from The Light Princess to Papa’s Story (not The Golden Key) were part of a collection I had previously read in May 2017. Normally, I would just list the title of the collection and move on, but the title was The Light Princess and Other Fantasy Stories… which apparently is a very common title for diverse MacDonald collections. In the interest of actually remembering which short MacDonald stories I have read, I decided to list them individually here.
Philostratus is the Conybeare translation. Herodian is Echols. The Priapeia is the Smithers and Burton translation. The Book of Am-Tuat, Gates, and Heaven and Hell is Budge. The Shipwrecked Sailor, The Taking of Joppa, and Princess Ahura are Petrie. The Tale of the Two Brothers is Moldenke. A Ghost Story is Gardiner. The Mouse as Vizier is Brunner-Traut. The Westcar Papyrus stories and the Doomed Prince are Mackenzie. The Garden of Flowers is Chabas. Wenamen’s Journey and Bentresh Stela are Breasted. The Literary Letter is Moers. Prince Khamuas is Griffith.
Another very good month for writing:
Seven Days to Save Bakatam (4100-words): Written for a fantasy anthology, with a theme of community. This one owes a fair amount to a real-life historical event, but is otherwise notable for being a story set in the world of Wise/Old Phuul. At least in theory.
The Echo of Memory (1300-words): A modern twist on the Narcissus story from Classical myth. Notable for Ovid’s Garden Centre, and a scene where an Artemis stand-in and Echo are in the car together, singing “We’re Going On A Bear Hunt.”
A Voyage Among the Vandals (4600-words): Written for a Pirate Horror anthology, this is historical fantasy-horror, set during the fifth century AD.
I can also report that The Sweetest Flower of Nuulath and The One Who Saw Too Much have both earned rejections, albeit the latter was one of those close-run things. The former suffers, I think, because it follows the plot of a particularly awkward fairy tale – I might do some additional surgery on it at some point.
