DUNSANY, Lord "Plays of Gods and Men" [The Talbot Press, 1917]

DUNSANY, Lord. Plays of Gods and Men.

Dublin: The Talbot Press, Limited, 1917. First edition. 7.25” x 5”, 191pp. Publisher's quarter linen over paper-covered boards, lettered in white to the upper board and spine. Frontispiece portrait of the author in military uniform. Heavy foxing throughout. Binding sound. Very Good-.

Issued during the First World War while Dunsany was serving in the British Army, this collection gathers four of his most important dramatic works: The Laughter of the Gods, The Queen's Enemies, The Tents of the Arabs, and A Night at an Inn. Although best remembered today as a pioneer of modern fantasy literature, Dunsany devoted considerable attention to the stage, bringing the same dreamlike landscapes, invented mythologies, and fatalistic humor that characterize his fiction into dramatic form. His plays attracted the admiration of contemporaries including W. B. Yeats and helped establish his reputation as one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival.