H. Rider Haggard -- 95 Years Gone

The passing of H. Rider Haggard marked the end of a heroic era. He was the foremost titan amongst a titanic generation of mainly British authors--many of whom became Forefathers of Sword and Sorcery--who rose to prominence in the late 1800s. Haggard's torch was in good hands, having already been passed to the likes of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Talbot Mundy, A. Merritt...and to a young Texan Haggard fan named Robert E. Howard.

Read More

Forefathers of Sword and Sorcery: Gustave Flaubert

Gustave Flaubert died on this date in 1880. While most famous for his novel, Madame Bovary, and dubbed "The Father of French Literary Realism", Gustave nonetheless had a strong influence on the early formation of sword-and-sorcery through his novels, Salammbo and The Temptation of Saint Anthony.

Read More