The Quintessential Online Fantasy Collection seems like a logical choice to follow our Ghost Story resource. Fantasy fiction as we know it today really sprang from the 1960s, with the unauthorized paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings. Certainly Fantasy existed before this, but when Donald A. Wollheim found a loophole in the copyright and brought Tolkien’s masterpiece kicking and screaming into the paperback publishing sphere, we got the first Fantasy bestseller. Everything after that, the Lancer edition Conans, Ballantine’s The Sword of Shannara, George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, all of it springs from that act.
Before that moment, Fantasy was a diffuse genre with spots of brilliance here and there. Much of it was written for children but can be enjoyed by anyone. Lin Carter tried to tie these many threads together with the Ballantine Fantasy Series but ultimately, things sold well the closer they were to Tolkien. You will find many wonders here but don’t expect them to conform to the likes of David Eddings or Stephen R. Donaldson. These are the originals that date back to the Victorians, inspired by myth and fairy tale. These are the tales that the likes of Tolkien, Lewis, Leiber and Howard read and created from.
Vathek by William Beckford (1787)
Heroes of Old Britain by David W. Oates (1800)
Undine by DeLa Motte Fouque (1811)
The Fairy Book by John Smith (1837)
Phantasmion by Sara Coleridge (1837)
The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin (1851)
A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851)
Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1853)
Phantastes by George MacDonald (1858)
Tales of Gods and Heroes by George William Cox (1862)
The Fairy Book by Dinak Craik (1863)
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1866)
Laboulaye’s Fairy Book by Edouard Laboulaye (1866)
Mace’s Fairy Book by Jean Mace (1867)
The Indian Fairy Book by Henry Rowe Schollcraft (1869)
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald (1871)
The Fairy Book by Sophie May (1872)
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (1872)
The Enchanted Moccasins and Other Legends of the American Indians by Cornelius Mathews (1877)
Indian Fairy Tales by Maive Stokes (1880)
Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm (1882)
Nights with Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris (1882)
The Story of Siegfried by James Baldwin (1882)
Pinocchio by Carlo Collidi (1883)
The Princess and the Curdie by George MacDonald (1883)
Queen Titania’s Book of Fairy Tales by Anonymous (1883)
The Old-Fashioned Fairy Book by Mrs. Burton Harrison (1884)
Davy and the Goblin by Charles E. Carryl (1885)
The Griffon and the Minor Canon by Frank Stockton (1885)
Roumanian Fairy Tales by J. M. Perceval (1885)
The Fairy Book by Anonymous (1886)
Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert (1886)
A Dish of Orts by George MacDonald (1888)
The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde (1888)
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1889)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain (1889)
House of the Wolfings by William Morris (1889)
East of the Sun and West of the Moon illustrated by Kay Nielsen (1890)
English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1890)
Eric Brighteyes by H. R. Haggard (1890)
Folk and Hero Tales by Duncan MacInnis (1890)
The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1890)
The Roots of the Mountain by William Morris (1890)
Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1891)
Folk and Hero Tales: Walfs and Strays of Celtic Tradition by Rev. J. MacDougall (1891)
Khaled by F. Marion Crawford (1891)
The Light Princess and Other Stories by George MacDonald (1891)
My Lady Legend and Other Folk Tales From the North by Anna Rydingsvard (1891)
The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1892)
Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1892)
More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1893)
News From Nowhere by William Morris (1893)
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (1893)
Hero-Tales of Ireland by Jeremiah Curtin (1894)
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (1894)
More Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1894)
Welsh Fairy-Tales and Other Stories P. H. Emerson (1894)
A Book of Fairy Tales by Sabine Baring-Gould (1895)
The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox by Joseph Jacobs (1895)
My Own Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1895)
The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (1895)
The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris (1895)
The Book of Wonder Voyages by Joseph Jacobs (1896)
The Froggy Fairy Book by Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle (1896)
Lilith by George MacDonald (1896)
The Story of the Glittering Plain by William Morris (1896)
The Zankiwank & the Bletherwitch by S. J. Adair Fitz-Gerald (1896)
The Diamond Fairy Book illustrated by Frank Pape (1897)
The Heroes or Greek Fairy Tales by Charles Kingsley (1897)
The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1897)
The Water of the Wondrous Isles by William Morris (1897)
The Arabian Nights Entertainment by Andrew Lang (1898)
The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame (1898)
Child Chistopher and Goldinlind the Fair by William Morris (1900)
The Dreamer of Dreams by Carmen Sylva (1900)
The Grey Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1900)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900)
The Master Key by L. Frank Baum (1901)
Nine Unlikely Tales by Edith Nesbit (1901)
The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1901)
The Book of Romance by Andrew Lang (1902)
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling (1902)
The Little White Bird by J. M. Barrie (1902)
The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1903)
The Well at the World’s End by William Morris (1903) V1 V2
The Brown Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1904)
Heroic Tales Told In School by James Baldwin (1904)
The Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1904)
The New World Fairy Book by Howard Angus Kennedy (1904)
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle (1904)
The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle (1904)
The Fairy Reader by James Baldwin (1905)
The Hollow Land by William Morris (1905)
The Line of Love by James Branch Cabell (1905)
The Oak-Tree Fairy Book by Clifton Johnson (1905)
The Red Romance Book by Andrew Lang (1905)
The Sa’-zada Tales by W. A. Fraser (1905)
The Story of the Champions of the Round Table by Howard Pyle (1905)
The Wild Flower Fairy Book by Esther Singleton (1905)
The Birch-Tree Fairy Book by Clifton Johnson (1906)
The Enchanted Castle: A Book of Fairy Tales by Hartwell James (1906)
English Fairy and Other Folk Tales by Edwin Sidney Hartland (1906)
The Golden Key by George MacDonald (1906)
John Dough and the Cherub by L. Frank Baum (1906)
The Magic Bed: A Book of East Indian Fairy-Tales by Hartwell James (1906)
The Man Elephant: A Book of African Fairy Tales by Hartwell James (1906)
The Orange Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1906)
Puck of Pook’s Hill by Rudyard Kipling (1906)
Tears of Pearls Fairy Book by Alexander Chodzko (1906)
Time and the Gods by Lord Dunsany (1906)
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlof (1906)
The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit (1907)
The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by Hans Christian Andersen (1907)
The Kalevala by Elias Lonrot V1 V2 (1907)
The Land of Enchantment illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1907)
Magic Casements: A Second Fairy Book by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1907)
The Olive Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1907)
Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1907)
The Russian Fairy Book by Nathan Haskell Cole (1907)
Stories From Morris by William Morris (1907)
The Story of Lancelot and his Companions by Howard Pyle (1907)
The Story of the Amulet by Edith Nesbit (1907)
The Book of Princes and Princesses by Andrew Lang (1908)
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum (1908)
The History of Jack the Giant-Killer by Andrew Lang (1908)
The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories by Lord Dunsany (1908)
Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1908)
Chivalry by James Branch Cabell (1909)
The Heroes of Asgard by A. Keary (1909)
The Irish Fairy Book by Alfred Perceval Graves (1909)
The Red Book of Heroes by Andrew Lang (1909)
The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum (1909)
Tales of Wonder: a Fourth Fairy Book by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1909)
Celtic Tales by Louey Chisholm (1910)
Celtic Wonder-Tales by Ella Young (1910)
Chinese Fairy Tales by Norman Hinsdale Pitman (1910)
The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1910)
Fairies I Have Met by Mrs. Rodolph Stawell (1910)
Fairy Tales by Wilhelm Hauff (1910)
The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save For Sacnoth by Lord Dunsany (1910)
The Magic City by Edith Nesbit (1910)
Rewards and Fairies by Rudyard Kipling (1910)
The Scottish Fairy Book by Elizabeth W. Grierson (1910)
The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur by Howard Pyle (1910)
The Blue Rose Fairy Book by Maurice Baring (1911)
The Cruikshank Fairy-Book by George Cruikshank (1911)
The Italian Fairy Book by Anne McDowell (1911)
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (1911)
The Now-a-Days Fairy Book by Anna Alice Chapin (1911)
Peter Pan and Wendy by J. M. Barrie (1911)
Stories From the Arabian Nights by Laurence Housman (1911)
Stories From Hans Christian Andersen illustrated by Edmund Dulac (1911)
The Story of Roland by James Baldwin (1911)
The Wonder-book of Horses by James Baldwin (1911)
Aesop’s Fables illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1912)
The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany (1912)
The Crock of Gold by James Stephens (1912)
The Fairy Book by Kate Forrest Oswell (1912)
The Fir-Tree Fairy Book by Clifton Johnson (1912)
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens by J. M. Barrie (1912)
The Early Romances of William Morris in Prose and Verse by William Morris (1913)
Fairy Gold: A Book of Old English Fairy Tales by Ernest Rhys (1913)
Prince Badoura: A Tale From the Arabian Nights by Laurence Housman (1913)
The Soul of Melicent by James Branch Cabell (1913)
Wet Magic by Edith Nesbit (1913)
The White Duckling and Other Stories by Nathan Haskell Dole (1913)
A Book of Fairy-Tale Foxes by Clifton Johnson (1914)
Danish Fairy Tales by Sven Grundtvig (1914)
Golden Porch: A Book of Greek Fairy Tales by W. M. Hutchinson (1914)
Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians by Woislav M Petrovitch (1914)
Old French Romances Done Into English by William Morris (1914)
Sinbad the Sailor and Other Stories from the Arabian Nights illustrated by Edmund Dulac (1914)
Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1914)
Byliny Book: Hero Tales of Russia by Marion Chilton Harrison (1915)
Fifty-One Tales by Lord Dunsany (1915)
Hero Tales and Legends of the Rhine by Lewis Spence (1915)
The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1915)
The Allies Fairy Book illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1916)
The Centaur by Algernon Blackwood (1916)
Edmund Dulac’s Fairy Book by Edmund Dulac (1916)
Edmund Dulac’s Picture-Book by Edmund Dulac (1916)
Europa’s Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs (1916)
The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1916)
The Gods of Pegana by Lord Dunsany (1916)
The Last Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany (1916)
The Cream of the Jest by James Branch Cabell (1917)
Little Brother, Little Sister illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1917)
The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1917)
Wonder Tales From Scottish Myths by Donald A. Mackenzie (1917)
The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy by Padraic Colum (1918)
The Book of Elves and Fairies illustrated by Milo Winter (1918)
The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said by Padraic Colum (1918)
English Fairy Tales by Flora Annie Webster Steel (1918)
The Shaving of Shagpat by George Meredith (1918)
A Dreamer’s Tale and Other Stories by Lord Dunsany (1919)
The Firelight Fairy Book by Henry Beston (1919)
Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice by James Branch Cabell (1919)
The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1919)
Some Scottish Ballads illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1919)
The Wonder Garden by Frances Jenkins Olcott (1919)
Atlantida by Pierre Benoit (1920)
The Children of Odin by Padraic Colum (1920)
A Disk of Apples by Eden Phillpotts (1920)
Domnei by James Branch Cabell (1920)
The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum (1920)
The Green Forest Fairy Book by Loretta Ellen Brady (1920)
Hansel & Gretel and Other Tales of the Brothers Grimm illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1920)
Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens (1920)
The Jewish Fairy Book by Gerald Friedlander (1920)
Malory’s Romance of King Arthur illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1920)
Old French Tales illustrated by Kay Nielsen (1920)
The Sleeping Beauty by C. S. Evans (1920)
Snowdrop and Other Tales by the Brothers Grimm illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1920)
The Tales of Three Hemispheres by Lord Dunsay (1920)
A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay (1920)
The Chinese Fairy Book by Richard Wilhelm (1921)
Figures of Earth by James Branch Cabell (1921)
Hansel & Gretel and Other Stories illustrated by Kay Nielsen (1921)
The Laughing Prince: A Book of Jurgoslav Fairy Tales by Parker Fillmore (1921)
The Swedish Fairy Book by Clara Strobe (1921)
Taboo by James Branch Cabell (1921)
The Danish Fairy Book by Clara Strobe (1922)
Don Rodriguez by Lord Dunsany (1922)
The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault illustrated by Harry Clarke (1922)
The Japanese Fairy Book by Yei Theodora Ozaki (1922)
Kabumpo in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson (1922)
Kai Lung’s Golden Hours by Ernest Bramah (1922)
Mighty Mikko: A Book of Finnish Fairy Tales and Folk Tales by Parker Fillmore (1922)
The Norwegian Fairy Book by Clara Strobe (1922)
The Rose Fyleman Fairy Book by Rose Fyleman (1923)
The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany (1924)
The Worm Ourobrous by E. R. Eddison (1924)
The selections here range from modern fairy tale to beast fables to mock medievalism to exquisite modern Fantasy novels. The Quintessential Online Fantasy Collection will be added to as books become available. I have tried to stay within the public domain time frame, largely before 1925. There is much to enjoy before the coming of Pulp fantasy.
It’s Donald A. Wollheim, with two “l’s”….
You are right, Steve. Ive been misspelling that for a while!
You could go back to the late 1500s and add anything by Richard Hakluyt. They were supposed to be true stories, but many are very fantastic.