Author: Lloyd Alexander
Genre: fiction, fantasy
Publication info: Henry Holt, 2006 (originally published in 1970)
Pages: 98
Several years ago I enjoyed the marvelous fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain. If you haven't yet discovered the series, which consists of five novels, I recommend them to you. They may remind you somewhat of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, but they have enough of their own unique elements—characters, story lines, and pieces of Welsh mythology—to make them a series worth reading.
If you have in fact read The Chronicles of Prydain, I recommend this book, The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain. I didn't even know this book existed until earlier this year when I found it at a bargain book sale. Apparently Lloyd Alexander had other characters and stories he wanted to explore and explain.
In this collection of short stories, you find the tale of how Dallben came to be the great enchanter that he is, a cautionary tale of how the great sword Dyrnwyn must be handled, the tale of how Eilonwy's mother found her husband, and more. There are eight stories in all, so in a 98-page book, each is pretty short, but each one manages to capture your imagination. At least they captured mine. They are told much like folk tales (with lines such as "This is the tale of . . . And this is how it begins."). Some of them are surprisingly deep for how short they are, especially the story of the sword.
It has been a while since I have read the novels of Prydain (which happens to be the Welsh word for Britain), so I don't remember a lot of the details, but I still very much enjoyed this book. Reading these stories brought me back to that fantasy world I loved. I've said before that I'm not much for fantasy most of the time, but The Chronicles of Prydain, including The Foundling, are a great exception to my rule. I hope you enjoy these books too.
