= The_Twilight_of_the_Gods_and_Other

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= The_Twilight_of_the_Gods_and_Other_Tales =
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Introduction
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'The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales' is a collection of fantasy
short stories by Richard Garnett, generally considered a classic in
the genre. Its title notwithstanding, the collection "has nothing to
do with the Norse gods--although it draws upon everything else, from
Arabic legends and Chinese fairy tales to Roman history and Greek
mythology." The title story actually concerns the release of
Prometheus, upon the ultimate eclipse of Greek paganism by
Christianity, from the torture to which he was sentenced by Zeus.

Publication
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The collection was first published in hardcover by T. Fisher Unwin in
1888. A "new and augmented edition" was published by John Lane in
1903. In this form the collection continued to be reprinted and
available through 1911. An edition with an introduction by T. E.
Lawrence and illustrations by Henry Keen was published in 1924 by John
Lane and by Dodd, Mead in the United States.

Its importance in the history of fantasy literature was recognized by
the inclusion of two of its tales ("The Poet of Panopolis" and "The
City of Philosophers") in the anthology 'Discoveries in Fantasy',
edited by Lin Carter and published by Ballantine Books as the
forty-third volume of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
in March, 1972. Carter intended to reissue the complete collection as
a volume in the series, though this hope was not realized.

Contents
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The original edition of the book collected sixteen tales by the
author; the 1903 edition added twelve more. Stories added in the 1903
edition are indented.

*"The Twilight of the Gods"
*"The Potion of Lao-Tsze"
*"Abdallah the Adite"
*"Ananda the Miracle-Worker"
*"The City of Philosophers"
*"The Demon Pope"
*"The Cupbearer"
:*The Wisdom of the Indians"
*"The Dumb Oracle"
*"Duke Virgil"
:*"The Claw"
:*"Alexander the Ratcatcher"
:*"The Rewards of Industry"
*"Madam Lucifer"
:*"The Talismans"

*"The Elixir of Life"
*"The Poet of Panopolis"
*"The Purple Head"
:*"The Firefly"
:*"Pan's Wand"
:*"A Page From the Book of Folly"
*"The Bell of St. Euschemon"
*"Bishop Addo and Bishop Gaddo"
:*"The Philosopher and the Butterflies"
:*"Truth and Her Companions"
:*"The Three Palaces"
:*"New Readings in Biography"
*"The Poison-Maid"
*Notes

Reception
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Mary Butts praised 'The Twilight of the Gods', writing in 1925 "How
immensely effective is Dr. Garnett's method, 'The Twilight of the
Gods' because he knows the trick of telling realistically the mystery
tale". E. F. Bleiler has described 'The Twilight of the Gods' as a
"collection of stories which cover many times and places with
cosmopolitan learning [and which] is almost unique in literature.
Wryly whimsical narratives, rather than formal stories, they are
gracefully expressed, witty, and timeless. Only Vernon Lee has been
able to work successfully in the same vein". Brian Stableford has
praised 'The Twilight of the Gods' as containing "deft and delicate
fantasies" whose moral is "that Epicurean humanism is always to be
preferred to Puritan intolerance". In a 1932 letter to his friend
Brenda Salkeld, George Orwell described reading the book as
"positively a duty" and praised "The Purple Head" as "excellent".
"The Poison-Maid" inspired Ralph Vaughan Williams's comic opera 'The
Poisoned Kiss'.

External links
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*[https://books.google.com/books?id=mLh3Uyl5JLAC&dq=Richard+Garnett+%22Twilight+of+the+Gods%22+date:1887-1889&pg=PA9
Google Books etext of the 1888 edition]
*[https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=DZULAAAAIAAJ&rdid=book-DZULAAAAIAAJ&rdot=1
Google Books etext of the 1903 edition]
- another etext of the 1903 edition.

License
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_of_the_Gods_and_Other_Tales