Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers

From Tolkien Gateway
Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy
Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers.png
AuthorL. Sprague de Camp
Foreword byLin Carter
IllustratorTim Kirk (jacket)
PublisherSauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House Publishers
Released1976
FormatHardcover with dustjacket
Pages313
ISBN0-87054-076-9

Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy is a collection of articles by L. Sprague de Camp.

Chapter IX, "Merlin in Tweeds: J.R.R. Tolkien" (based on the article "White Wizard in Tweeds", Fantastic Stories November 1976), is a literary analysis of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The article also includes recollections of and a quote from Tolkien noted by de Camp during his visit in 1967 (see pp. 243-4).

Quote[edit | edit source]

"[Tolkien] said he found [the anthology] interesting but did not much like the stories in it [...] We sat in the garage for a couple of hours, smoking pipes, drinking beer, and talking about a variety of things. Practically anything in English literature, from Beowulf down, Tolkien had read and could talk intelligently about. He indicated that he 'rather liked' Howard's Conan stories."

Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers, pp. 243-4