Lord Dunsany, The Last Book of Wonder; Boston: John W. Luce & Company, undated illustrated edition with 1916 copyright statement
London in “A Tale of London”
London appears at a great distance in a storyteller’s account to a Sultan beyond Bagdad. The speaker describes ebony and cedar houses, golden balconies, jewelled lanterns, musicians and dancers, and ships with violet sails upon the Thames. Familiar city life becomes a vision of abundance. Yet the telling is constrained: the speaker tries to turn to other cities when the imps of his vision warn him, but the Sultan’s displeasure sends him back to London. When the sound of traffic seems too loud, an interruption leads him to revise the chariots into silence. The tale ends after the Sultan asks about government and receives a favourable answer. The palace envies London, while the reader has seen how the pleasing account was shaped.
Also known as London, the desiderate city
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In the sources
A city described through a dream
DocumentedAt the Sultan’s request, the storyteller presents London as an exceptionally beautiful city, with richly furnished houses, music and precious materials.
A listener who changes the account
DocumentedThe Sultan’s displeasure prevents the storyteller from changing cities. A later interruption makes him correct his description of noisy traffic into chariots moving softly.
Context & interpretation
The fictional London and storytelling frame in the complete “A Tale of London”, printed pp. 1–7 of this supplied illustrated edition. Not a general history of London, a survey of Dunsany’s cities or a claim about actual visions.
Original passages
Source 1
The Last Book of Wonder
dream to me now of LondonOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Last Book of Wonder, “A Tale of London”, printed p. 1
Actual cleared Reader image visually inspected; complete seven-page tale reviewed. Documents a fictional portrayal and its storytelling frame, not the historical city or a recommended altered-state practice.
- Edition
- IMJ-0255-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0255-E001-P0009
- Original scan leaf
- 17
- Recorded leaf number
- 17
- Current Reader position
- 9
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
The Last Book of Wonder
London is its secret, the last gate of allOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Last Book of Wonder, “A Tale of London”, printed p. 2
Actual cleared Reader image visually inspected; complete seven-page tale reviewed. Documents a fictional portrayal and its storytelling frame, not the historical city or a recommended altered-state practice.
- Edition
- IMJ-0255-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0255-E001-P0010
- Original scan leaf
- 18
- Recorded leaf number
- 18
- Current Reader position
- 10
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 3
The Last Book of Wonder
a look of thunderOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Last Book of Wonder, “A Tale of London”, printed p. 3
Actual cleared Reader image visually inspected; complete seven-page tale reviewed. Documents a fictional portrayal and its storytelling frame, not the historical city or a recommended altered-state practice.
- Edition
- IMJ-0255-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0255-E001-P0011
- Original scan leaf
- 19
- Recorded leaf number
- 19
- Current Reader position
- 11
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 4
The Last Book of Wonder
I have erred being drunken with hasheeshOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Last Book of Wonder, “A Tale of London”, printed p. 5
Actual cleared Reader image visually inspected; complete seven-page tale reviewed. Documents a fictional portrayal and its storytelling frame, not the historical city or a recommended altered-state practice.
- Edition
- IMJ-0255-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0255-E001-P0013
- Original scan leaf
- 21
- Recorded leaf number
- 21
- Current Reader position
- 13
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 5
The Last Book of Wonder
he smiled and lightly applaudedOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Last Book of Wonder, “A Tale of London”, printed p. 7
Actual cleared Reader image visually inspected; complete seven-page tale reviewed. Documents a fictional portrayal and its storytelling frame, not the historical city or a recommended altered-state practice.
- Edition
- IMJ-0255-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0255-E001-P0015
- Original scan leaf
- 23
- Recorded leaf number
- 23
- Current Reader position
- 15
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed