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Like an ordinary geographical dictionary,
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places contains alphabetically organized entries for more than a thousand locales. In this case, however, the locales in question are far from ordinary--they range from the orc-ridden wastes of
Tolkien's Middle-earth to the languorous shores of
Homer's Island of the Lotus-Eaters. Though for the most part these fantastical lands are mapped and chronicled with straight-faced seriousness, the encyclopedia is not without a certain deadpan wit. For example, the entry for Oz describes "a large rectangular country divided into four small countries.... As a famous visitor once remarked, Oz is not Kansas." This handsome and whimsically charming book, adorned with fanciful line drawings and maps, is rich with enough fictive detail to please the most inveterate reader.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Since the publication of the first Dictionary in 1980, Manguel (A History of Reading) and Guadalupi, a translator and editor, have accepted suggestions from readers and continued their own research. The result is this updated version--a book that includes imaginary terrains from ancient Greece to Harry Potter's Hogwarts. The authors have set a few limitations for inclusion: "no heavens or hells, no places in the future, none outside the planet Earth, no pseudonymous places such as Wessex or Manawaka." Even with those seemingly extensive restrictions, however, the dictionary runs over 700 pages. Each place is described in detail as if it physically existed outside the reader's imagination. Entries are cross-referenced and See references are provided, as well as illustrations and maps that are difficult to locate elsewhere. A valuable reference source to accompany fiction collections, this new edition is recommended for all school, public, and academic libraries.
-Katherine K. Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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