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I have been reading some others’ descriptions to post, and have settled on the review from Elisabeth Carey found on Amazon.Com (with a few alterations for clarity and to hide some things). It gives a good, broad description, without giving away anything:
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Dorimare is bordered by Fairyland, although these days it does its very best to ignore that fact. Two or three centuries ago, under Duke Aubrey, it was different. Trade between the two lands was thriving, and the people of Dorimare enjoyed eating fairy fruit. But the merchants rose up and drove Duke Aubrey out - he was capricious and bad for business - and now the mention of Fairy is banned as indecent, and fairy fruit is so illegal that smugglers of it have to be prosecuted for smuggling silk.
And then one day the Mayor of Lud-in-the-Mist (the capital of Dorimare), Master Nathaniel Chanticleer, discovers that his son Ranulph has been fed a piece of fairy fruit, and his quiet, orderly, respectable life is thrown into chaos. His city becomes strange to him, his daughter runs off to Fairyland, his friends turn against him, and he has no choice but to learn more than he has ever wanted to know about Fairyland, fairy fruit, Duke Aubrey, and the hidden mysteries of Lud.
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The word “mysteries” is so important here, because there are many, and turns into a good mystery story of a sort, not just fantasy.
In the edition I have, Neil Gaiman wrote the introduction, and I don’t normally read those, or comment about them in my reviews. However, I make this note since this book is similar to “Stardust”. Even without reading the introduction, this book could be seen as a possible influence on Gaiman’s story.
There is a very unique style to Mirrlees’ writing in this book. I have read snippets of other fantasy novels published around the same time (this was published in 1926), and the prose is so thick, it even becomes the mode in which all characters speak. “Lud-in-the-Mist” though is written with great prose that is incredibly descriptive and poetic, yet is accessible to those not as well read (like me). And her characters don’t speak with her descriptive prose. Sure, they can be well spoken, but you do hear characters swearing, or what makes up swearing in this world (my favorite, as is other readers’, “By my Great Aunt’s rump!”). They stumble in their words, and say stupid things or unthoughtful things. Some come across as not very well educated. They are real, in other words. They may not be terribly deep, but believable and different from one another.
Mirrlees descriptions become a real treat. Sometimes she would go a long way in describing scenes or telling stories within the story as background, using her beautiful prose. And other times she could describe so much in just a few words. She also seemed to know what approach to take and when with very little flaws. (Either that or she had a great editor.)
The story itself took some time to get rolling. Part of this is due to background information that Mirrlees gives the reader in the earlier chapters. It is done, as is the whole story, in a folklore manner of someone recording history, or telling you the story. This gives these lulls a great quality about them, even if the reader isn’t getting very far. As the book progresses, the story becomes more and more engaging, evolving into many mysteries of the past, and what they mean to the people of Lud-in-the-Mist.
The character of Nathanial Chanticleer becomes more and more interesting as the story goes. He is frumpy at first, and even a bit of a bore, though loving his cheese and a good thyme gin. But when he is faced with issues that are destroying all that is natural to him, his love of his job wins out in the end, propelling him into these mysteries. At first, it seemed uncharacteristic for him to take on such tasks. But the deeper the reader gets to penetrate his brain, the more you find out that it was hidden beneath Nat’s surface, and was bound to come out. The other characters don’t give so much depth, though as I mentioned there is enough of them to make it all believable. And if anything, some of them are very interesting “characters” (nudge-nudge, wink-wink).
The original plot, the mysticism of Fairyland, and the great prose made this story a treat. I see why many feel this is a lost or underrated classic. However, given the nature of fantasy writing these day though, I don’t see that status changing, which is a shame.
