Several different strains of fiction have influenced the Frilond setting, including historical fiction set in the Middle Ages such as the Name of the Rose. We have tried to get away from Tolkien's pervasive influence on fantasy by looking back to older models: folklore and fairy tales, literary sources such as Spenser and Malory, and early fantasy novels. Although many of these older works are unfortunately out of print, several are now in the public domain and electronic editions are now available on the internet. Links to these etexts are given below.
Dunsany, Lord [Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett Dunsany, Baron]. 1924. The King of Elfland's Daughter. New York: Putnam, 1924.
__________. The Book of Wonder: A Chronicle of Little Adventures at the Edge of the World. Illus. S. H. Sime. London: William Heinemann, 1912.
Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose. English translation. NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983.
Eddison, E. R. The Worm Ouroboros. 1926. Introd. Orville Prescott. NY: Ballentine, 1962.
Follett, Kenneth. The Pillars of the Earth. New York: Penguin, 1990
Lang, Andrew, ed. The Blue Fairy Book. 1889. New York: Dover Publications, 1965.
__________, ed. The Red Fairy Book. 1890. New York: Dover Publications, 1966.
__________, ed. The Yellow Fairy Book. 1894. New York: Dover Publications, 1966.
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte D'Arthur. Ed. Janet Cowen. 2 vols. NY: Penguin, 1969.
Morris, William. The Well at the World's End. 1896. Introd. Lin Carter. 2 vols. NY: Ballentine, 1970.
Smith, Clark Ashton. Tales of Averoigne. 1999. http://members.xoom.com/eldritchdark/wri/short/cas_tales_of_averoigne.pdf
Spenser, Edmund. The Faerie Queen. Ed. Thomas P. Roche, Jr. NY: Penguin, 1978.
Vance, Jack. The Dying Earth. 1950. NY: Pocket Books, 1977.
__________. The Eyes of the Overworld. 1966. NY: Pocket Books, 1977.
Another excellent source for inspiration is the Cadfael series by Ellis Peters. These are mystery novels set in twelfth century England, and they are very much in the spirit of the Frilond campaign. Several have been made into episodes of the PBS program Mystery, and are available on videocassette. The Cadfael novels:
| A Morbid Taste for Bones One Corpse Too Many Monk's Hood Saint Peter's Fair The Leper of St. Giles The Virgin in the Ice The Sanctuary Sparrow The Devil's Novice Dead Man's Ransom The Pilgrim of Hate |
An Excellent Mystery The Raven in the Foregate The Rose Rent The Hermit of Eyton Forest The Confession of Brother Haluin The Heretic's Apprentice The Potter's Field The Summer of the Danes The Holy Thief Brother Cadfael's Penance A Rare Benediction |