The sheer breadth and volume of this anthology is impressive. I can't imagine the legal and practical ramifications of securing even limited publication rights to the stories contained in this volume, 14 of which apparently hadn't ever previously been translated into English (and one at least which hadn't ever been previously published, full stop). The editors include a valuable introduction which touches on their criteria for inclusion in this collection including what fantasy is, for their purposes, how they limited their choices, what time period they chose (from the early 1800s to WW2) and more.
The group of authors represented in this volume is mind boggling and includes Mary Shelly, Jules Verne, Oscar Wilde, Chesterton, Kafka, Nabokov, Tolkien, Grimm, Irving, Dickens, Poe, Melville, Rosetti, Andersen; around 100 total. Some of them are extremely well known, some of them less so, all are worthy. I read a great deal and wasn't previously familiar with more than 50% of the content, probably much less.
This would make a phenomenal resource book for the home or other library or a textbook or support resource for a course on speculative fiction. I sat down and read it cover to cover over a period of weeks, interspersed with other reading and think that digesting stories one at a time worked better for me than devouring them whole. They're a very varied selection and there's literally something to appeal to every reader.
Beautifully curated, phenomenally eclectic, and classic. Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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