Tolkien’s saga is fleshed out with songs, histor-
ical records, and a very large cast of characters.
The plot is largely episodic, although the underly-
ing story provides a strong central structure. It is,
in effect, a reverse quest story. Rather than search-
ing for a magical artifact, the heroes seek its de-
struction, but the results are much the same. The
remaining titles in the trilogy are THE TWO TOW-
ERS(1954) and THE RETURN OF THE KING(1955),
all three of which were recently produced as major
motion pictures.
Five Children and It Edith Nesbit(1902)
Edith NESBIT(1858–1924) is considered one of the
first important writers for children, and she was
certainly an influence on many who followed, such
as Mary Norton, Edward EAGER, and Alan GAR-
NER. Nesbit began her career by writing a consider-
able amount of nonfantastic fiction, much of it
pseudonymously but with little success until a se-
ries of stories about the children of the fictional
Bastable family became so popular that they ap-
peared collected in book form and were followed
by two novels involving the same characters. Al-
though not fantasy, the Bastable stories are similar
in their portrayal of children and may have helped
Nesbit establish the tone that she would use for
her more important work.
Nesbit began writing fairy tales in the 1890s
and then a full-length fantasy novel published in
serial form as The Psammead or the Gifts(1902),
later published in book form as Five Children and It.
The children in the story, who would be recurring
characters in later novels, discover a sand fairy
near their home, a magical creature with the
power to grant them one single wish each day. The
sand fairy, or Psammead, is an ancient being that
vaguely resembles a spider and that has been alive
since the dinosaurs walked the Earth. It would
much rather be left alone but grudgingly agrees to
use its powers on their behalf.
Despite their efforts to craft their wishes pre-
cisely, in each case the results are not what they
had hoped for. Great riches, the ability to fly, and
the acquisition of worldly goods all seem to back-
fire, usually in very comical fashion. Eventually
they make a more serious mistake, and an inno-
cent man is accused of a crime, an error they can
correct only if they agree never to make another
magical wish. Although Nesbit is not as well
known as many other classic children’s writers, she
was to a great extent inventing the form as she
wrote and has been a major influence, either di-
rectly or indirectly, ever since.“The Footsteps Invisible”Robert Arthur
(1940)
Robert Arthur was a prolific short story writer dur-
ing the 1930s and 1940s, very active in mystery
and suspense and occasionally producing an inter-
esting fantasy or horror story, including his most fa-
mous story, “SATAN AND SAM SHAY” (1942).
Arthur was also the ghost editor of the early Alfred
Hitchcock suspense anthologies, which often in-
cluded supernatural or fantastic elements.
The protagonist of this particular tale is Jor-
man, who lost his vision and now supports himself
operating a newsstand in Times Square. Jorman
has become acutely sensitive to sounds and can
recognize his regular customers by the pattern of
their footsteps. One of those customers is Sir An-
drew Carraden, an archaeologist, who becomes
very interested when he hears of Jorman’s unusual
acuity and invites him to his rooms, where he tells
him a very strange story.
Carraden indicates that several years previ-
ously, while excavating in Egypt, he violated an an-
cient law for which he has gained the implacable
hostility of a relentless enemy who has pursued
him from one hiding place to another around the
world. Although he feels comparatively safe in
New York City, he knows that it is just a matter of
time until he is discovered and forced to take flight
again. He asks Jorman if he would use his talent to
listen for the distinctive footsteps of his pursuer
and demonstrates them. Jorman takes instant
alarm, telling him that he heard that very sound
only an hour earlier. Carraden immediately pre-
pares to leave the city, but his pursuer is already in
the corridor beyond the main door, and his emer-
gency exit has been jammed shut due to an acci-
dent earlier in the day.
Jorman can only listen as the barricaded door
is literally torn down. The distinctive footsteps“The Footsteps Invisible” 117