C. W. Sullivan III

Read shortly after Donna R. White's excellent A Century of Welsh Myth in Children's Literature, C.W. Sullivan's work struck me as an expansion of that work, despite being published nine years earlier. This is owing, no doubt, to the fact that Sullivan examines the fantasy genre as a whole, while White confines herself to children's literature. However that may be, there is a great deal of overlap between the two, and each of them devote a significant amount of attention to Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, and Kenneth Morris. Sullivan also examines Evangeline Walton's Mabinogion series, as well as other adult contributions to the field.

Unlike White, who was primarily concerned with the adaptation of Welsh myth for a particular audience (that of children), Sullivan uses a more thematic approach in examining the topic. Particular emphasis is placed on the traditional Welsh cycle of tales, the Mabinogi, and the various ways in which it has been adapted to a new genre. One of many books I have read in my research into the connections between fantasy literature and traditional folklore, Welsh Celtic Myth in Modern Fantasy should be read in conjunction with White's work, mentioned above, and Kath Filmer-Davies' Fantasy Fiction & Welsh Myth.… (meer)