Middle Unearthed: The Best Fantasy Short Stories 1800-1849

Book excerpt: Before there were lovable hobbits and Game of Thrones and kid wizards named Harry Potter, there were the 10 best fantasy short stories published in English during the first half of the nineteenth century. These excellent stories have been uncovered by Andrew Barger, awarding winning editor of 6a66le: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 and BlooDeath: The Best Vampire Short Stories 1800-1849. In old magazines and forgotten journals, Andrew read well over 100 fantasy short stories and settled on the very best for this fantasy anthology. He provides a list, at the back of the collection, of the stories considered along with the author and year of publication. Andrew further includes background introductions to each story and author photos, where available. But his treatment of some of the earliest stories in the genre gets even better with annotations of the stories, which allow readers to peek behind the stories. Middle Unearthed, an Introduction — Andrew Barger 1836 “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton” — Charles Dickens 1839 “The Kelpie Rock” — Joseph Holt Ingraham 1831 “Transformation” — Mary Shelley 1819 “Rip Van Winkle” — Washington Irving 1824 “Lilian of the Vale” — George Darley 1835 “The Doom of Soulis” — John MacKay Wilson 1827 “The Dwarf Nose” — Wilhelm Hauff 1829 “Seddik Ben Saad the Magician” — D.C. 1845 “The Witch Caprusche” — Elizabeth F. Ellet 1837 “The Pale Lady” — George Soane Fantasy Short Stories Andrew Considered Take a wondrous journey into the early unknown and read the 10 best fantasy stories from 1800-1849 today.