LUD-IN-THE-MIST Paperback – Import, 5 July 2018

This is by right a fine example of classical fantastic literature. It centers on the meeting of two worlds the one of the fae and the one the humans of Lud made for themselves. While the human civilization is based on logic and the order of society, the fae is based on laws and powers maybe impossible to comprehend, but much more in line with nature and what lies beyond.The blurring of the line between both worlds isn't without conflict or pain, but it leads to a memorable finale and the insight of the importance of balance.

One aspect of the book which delighted me was the authors vocabulary- she used many archaic words and phrases which placed the action back in time, gave a flavour of the lost complexity of rural life.

I don't think I'm well-read enough to review this book -- as is the case with many British writers of that period, Mirrlees is far better classically educated than I am, and I'm sure I missed quite a few of her references. However, I now firmly agree with Neil Gaiman that this is "the single most beautiful, solid, unearthly, and unjustifiably forgotten novel of the twentieth century" so I felt I should attempt to review it here in the hopes that I get a few more people to seek it out.This is most distinctly not the sort of fantasy novel that would be able to get published today. Tolkien's Shire feels strongly influenced by Mirrlees' Lud, but it's not the Shire that so many fantasy writers and publishers have taken as their model, it's all that pesky questing and evil-battling. There are no epic quests in this novel, and there is definitely nothing as comforting as a black-and-white delineation of good and bad.Instead, Lud-in-the-Mist is somehow at the confluence of high fantasy rooted strongly rooted in folktale and a political thriller. It is written in a surprisingly straightforward, earthy style that nonetheless has plenty of room for some of the most beguiling and delightful descriptive passages I've ever read. It uses broad comedy side by side with the melancholy and the bittersweet. It can be read as a parable of class struggle, or as an endorsement of mind-altering drugs (keep in mind that it was published in 1926, so I highly doubt that this was what Mirrlees intended). It is most certainly about balancing the mundane and the miraculous (paraphrasing Gaiman's introduction), which perhaps explains how it came to be all these things at once.There are quite a few elements that turned people off (judging from the reviews I've seen online) but every single one of them worked for me: yes, the first third or so was highly episodic; yes, Nathaniel Chanticleer seems a bit of a bumbling fool at first, and isn't exactly likable; yes, it is very British, and quite old, so everyone reads white (though the women come off quite a bit better than in most of the fantasy written by men at the time) and as I mentioned above there are plenty of classical references. If your reading diet is entirely post-Tolkien fantasy, this novel will come as a bit of a shock to the senses. But if you actually enjoyed some of those classics they forced on you in school (things like  Gulliver's Travels (Penguin Classics) , for instance, whether you read the satire or not) and want some fantasy with both a brain and a heart, this is absolutely the book for you. Gulliver's Travels (Penguin Classics)

I discovered this old and rare jewel recently and reading it was a quite unique experience. The beauty of this book is not so much in the action, but in the general atmosphere and in the masterly use of English language. After ending it I thirsted for more - but it was in vain, as Hope Mirrlees didn't write any more fantasy books.Written in 1926 this book was for a longtime out of print and forgotten before being rediscovered in the 90s, to the greatest happiness of fantasy lovers. This element only adds to the aura of mystery surrounding Lud-in-the-mist, the imaginary town in an alternative world where most of the action takes place. I swallowed this book fast the first time and then I read it a second time, in a deliberately slower way, to enjoy it even more. I warmly recommend it to anybody who likes fantasy but also to a wider public, willing to discover an old, half forgotten treasure.I must however add one - very limited - ounce of criticism. I didn't like the last three chapters (XXX to XXXII). I do not want to take off one star for that, but in my modest opinion this book would be perfect, if it have stopped at the last line of chapter XXIX. So if I can offer an advice, the first time you read this book, stop at that moment, then give yourself a couple of days to savour this experience, and only then read the last three chapters. If you like them, fine. And if you do not, well, you will have always the memory of your first impression...This is an excellent book, a rare jewel - to buy, read, keep and pass to your children.

I read this mostly because I loved the title and that the residents of Lud must be Luddites! I also observed that Neil Gaiman, a favourite of mine, recommended it very highly.Written in 1926, Lud-in-the-Mist is old fashioned and encompasses some out of date ideas, but mostly it is a fairy story for adults and it has a lot of charm. The author was obviously well educated and she wrote some very beautiful passages. I very much enjoyed her descriptions of Lud and its surroundings and the clever names she gave to places and people.The story is slow but interesting and does not always go in the direction you expect. Sometimes the least likely people stand up and become heroes. I was very surprised though that after lots of very detailed events I was then short changed right at the end with no account of what happened in Fairyland!So although I cannot rate it as highly as Mr. Gaiman, it was an enjoyable and interesting tale.