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From the introduction: In a letter dated December 12, 1920, Deems Taylor wrote, ‘I have finished Jurgen; a great and beautiful book, and the saddest book I ever read. I don’t know why, exactly. The book hurts me–tears me to small pieces–but somehow it sets me free. It tells me everything I am, and have been, and may be, unsparingly.’ Jurgen wrestles, in its odd way, with the fundamental tragedy of human life in general and male life in particular: We are doomed to age and die; meanwhile happiness will prove elusive. Jurgen isn’t for everyone. Some will get it and some won’t. It’s a story of fantastic adventures, but it will be fully appreciated only by those who are stirred by symbol and metaphor. We may not be prancing through a magical world as Jurgen does, but some of us will see echoes of our own dreams and nightmares in his story. If you’re such a person, then Jurgen may hit you like a ton of bricks. For those who are interested, some rabid fans (of which there are many) put together a collection of explanatory footnotes in 1928, and these have been included in this edition. It’s worth noting that Jurgen is obscurely suggestive without being explicit; it went over the heads of some, but others saw what was going on, and they either guffawed or objected vigorously. There were serious attempts to suppress it, which of course only made the text notorious. It was (and still is) politically incorrect, and it garnered something of a counter-cultural following for all the wrong reasons. Well, so be it. The book is among the greatest works of fantasy, and that’s all there is to say. Along with the notes, this edition of Jurgen includes the classic illustrations of Frank C. Pape and a map of Jurgen’s land, making this the most complete version of the book ever published. Newly designed and beautifully typeset in a 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.
