Land of Unreason by Fletcher Pratt
"Land of Unreason" is a fantasy novel co-written by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp, known for their collaborations in the genre. The story follows Fred Barber, a minor American diplomat who, during a German bombardment in England, invokes an old legend by putting out Scotch to attract the Little People. This action leads to his transportation to Fairyland, where he becomes entangled in the politics and conflicts of fairy realms. Upon arrival, he is presented to Queen Titania and King Oberon, who task him with persuading the kobolds—hardworking creatures capable of manipulating iron—to cease their sword-making efforts against the fairies.
As Barber navigates enchanted forests, battles ogres, and meets various fantastical beings, he embarks on a quest to regain a lost magic wand and restore balance between the fairies and the kobolds. His transformations and encounters culminate in a confrontation with a rival kingdom that threatens Fairyland's existence. The narrative blends themes of adventure and myth as Barber, revealed to be the legendary Frederick Barbarossa, rallies forces to combat darkness, forging a lasting alliance with the magical realm. The novel offers a unique exploration of fantasy tropes while providing an engaging storyline filled with challenges and transformations.
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Subject Terms
Land of Unreason
First published: 1942 (shorter version, Unknown Worlds, October, 1941)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—high fantasy
Time of work: The present and the mythical past
Locale: England, Fairyland, and the kingdoms surrounding Fairyland
The Plot
Land of Unreason was the fourth of seven collaborations between Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp, two of the most popular writers for Unknown Worlds (previously called Unknown). In this novel, Fred Barber is a minor American diplomat temporarily assigned to England. As he tries to sleep during a German bombardment, Barber remembers an old legend that putting milk outside on the night before Midsummer Day will bring the Little People. As an experiment, Barber puts out Scotch instead. His reward is that the Little People transport him to Fairyland.
Barber awakes in Fairyland to find that he is to be given as a present by Queen Titania to her husband, King Oberon. He is taken to Oberon’s palace, where he becomes a member of the court and hears of the kobolds, the hardworking foes to the fairies who, unlike fairies, are able to touch iron, which they turn into swords. Barber is sent to the Kobold Hills to convince the kobolds to stop making swords, and Queen Titania loans him a magic wand that can create “food and detect sorcery.”
Barber then enters an enchanted forest, where he meets Malacea, a sprite who fails to seduce him but leads him to Plum. Barber fights the ogre, then flees. While crossing a vast desert, Barber loses the wand. Eventually he finds a cave and enters the Kobold Caverns. There, he finds a secret arsenal of swords that the kobolds plan to use to conquer Fairyland. The kobolds attempt to arrest Barber, but he escapes and enters a world that resembles New England in 1835. There he meets Noah Fawcett, a farmer, who trades with both the fairies and the kobolds. Barber works as a farmhand until Fawcett asks him to return to the Kobold Caverns to find out why the kobolds will not trade with him. Barber finds the caverns deserted and the armory destroyed. He knows that he has to find the magic wand and return it to Fairyland.
Barber decides to rest from his quest by taking a swim. He emerges from the water to find that he has become a frog. He befriends Arvicola, a vole, who sends him toward Hirudia, a land of leeches controlled by the tyrannical Boss. Barber is captured by the leeches but is saved by Arvicola and Sir Lacomar, a wandering knight. They flee from the leeches and enter a castle, where Barber recovers the magic wand.
Barber then encounters Malacea and is transformed into a winged, red-bearded patriarch. Barber returns to Oberon’s castle to discover a decaying court. Oberon reveals that another rival kingdom, the Princes of the Ice, is threatening to destroy Fairyland by black magic. On a reconnaissance mission, Barber fights a horde of eagles and decides to find the place whence the eagles came. This is the Wartburg, a giant dome of ice where the Princes of the Ice live. Here Barber learns that he is really Frederick Barbarossa, the legendary medieval warrior. As the novel ends, Barbarossa raises an army, conquers the forces of darkness, and forms a permanent alliance with Fairyland.