The Well of the Unicorn
Encyclopedia
The Well of the Unicorn is a fantasy
novel by Fletcher Pratt
, the first of his two major fantasies. It was first published in hardcover by William Sloane Associates
in 1948, under the pseudonym George U. Fletcher. All later editions have appeared under the author's actual name with the exception of the facsimile reprint issued by Garland Publishing in 1975 for its Garland Library of Science Fiction series. The novel was first issued in paperback in 1967 by Lancer Books
, which reprinted it in 1968; subsequent paperback editions were issued by Ballantine Books
. The first Ballantine edition was in May 1976, and was reprinted three times, in 1979, 1980, and 1995. The most recent edition was a trade paperback in the Fantasy Masterworks
series from Gollancz
in 2001. The book has also been translated into German
.
During his quest Alvarson gives much thought to the issues of honor, war, justice and government. He finds admirable qualities even in his enemies, and problematic ones in some of his allies. Always questioning where the right lies and what principles should guide his course, he feels his way to his goals as best he can. He finds magic a poor tool for defeating enemies or winning battles, as the small enchantments of which he is capable make him ill and gain him little. The great Empire across the sea, to which all parties pay at least a nominally fealty, seems to offer at least a symbolic solution; it guards the legendary Well of the Unicorn, which brings peace to those who drink from it. But its panacea is a deceptive one; those who do drink tend to find the peace so gained offset by new difficulties. The long, hard road of forging armies, building alliances, and waging war, without any mystical short cuts, proves the only effectual path.
At the end of the novel, with the assistance of the Star-Captains of Carrhoene, Alvarson has succeeded in overthrowing the Vulkings and freeing Dalarna, and won the emperor's daughter as his bride to boot. But it seems he will have no rest, as word comes that the heathens of Djik have invaded the isles of his allies, the free fishers. When his wife urges him to drink of the Well with the invaders, he declines such facile solutions, countering that "There is no peace but that interior to us."
.
Prescott viewed the book as reminiscent of Austin Tappan Wright
's Islandia
and E. R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros
and Mistress of Mistresses
, though not "in a class with them." He felt the author "quite wonderful [in] creating a world of his own and competent enough [in] telling a story of heroic action" but "no hand at characterization," with his characters "only picturesque shadows." He also thought the novel's "allegorical significance" weak, with the result that it "starts out superbly, trumpets blaring and banners flying," but "peters out sadly." In regard to style, he was pleased by "some of its archaisms" and found "some of its stiff rhythms ... flavorsome," but thought "the over-all effect ... pedantic and a bit wearisome."
To Morris, in contrast, the book was a "tour de force." She found "real pleasure and power" in "the enormous romantic adventure of the story," stating the author had "pinned down [his] strange country ... with brilliant exactness," with his "accurate archaisms ... giving a rare and racy flavor to his created world."
Jordan-Smith noted that the novel did "not conform to the conventions of the period [but] deserve[s] special attention." Comparing it to the fantasies of Cabell
and Eddison, he called it "a heroic yarn, crowded with both magic and lusty action; but the thoughtful reader will discover that he is never far away from the problem that gnaws at his own vitals."
Wagenknecht called the novel a "brilliantly written book" and "a straightforward, coherent narrative of exciting adventure" with "[f]or dressing ... love in all its manifestations from lust to glory." He too compared it to the works of Cabell and Eddison, as well as Lord Dunsany, "to whom, indeed, it is somewhat indebted" (an allusion to Pratt's acknowledged adoption of the setting of Dunsany's play King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior
).
L. Sprague de Camp
praised the novel as not merely "a colorful and fast-moving adventure-fantasy," but also an exploration of "the philosophy of government: how can men be organized to fight for their freedom without irretrievably losing that freedom in the process."
The book was also reviewed in Fantasy Book, 1948, The Arkham Sampler, Spring 1948, Lester del Rey in If, November 1969, Mary H. Schaub in Locus, November 21, 1969, del Rey again in Worlds of Fantasy, Winter 1970, Stuart David Schiff in Whispers, December 1975, Alan Winston in Delap's F & SF Review, December 1976, Orson Scott Card in Destinies, Spring 1980, and Henry Wessells in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 1999.
Wessells called the novel "anything but dry: Pratt's characters (and their sex lives) are very different from Tolkien
's rather idealized world." His pronouncement is that it "is well worth reading in any form."
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel by Fletcher Pratt
Fletcher Pratt
Murray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...
, the first of his two major fantasies. It was first published in hardcover by William Sloane Associates
William Milligan Sloane III
William Milligan Sloane III , also known simply as William Sloane, was an American author of fantasy and science fiction literature, and a publisher....
in 1948, under the pseudonym George U. Fletcher. All later editions have appeared under the author's actual name with the exception of the facsimile reprint issued by Garland Publishing in 1975 for its Garland Library of Science Fiction series. The novel was first issued in paperback in 1967 by Lancer Books
Lancer Books
Lancer Books was a series of paperback books published from 1961 through 1973 by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particularly its series of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian tales, the...
, which reprinted it in 1968; subsequent paperback editions were issued by Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
. The first Ballantine edition was in May 1976, and was reprinted three times, in 1979, 1980, and 1995. The most recent edition was a trade paperback in the Fantasy Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks is a series of fantastic fiction classics started by Millennium and continued by Gollancz , as a companion series for their SF Masterworks line.- Published titles :-External links :...
series from Gollancz
Victor Gollancz Ltd
Victor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
in 2001. The book has also been translated into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Plot
The land of Dalarna is under the heel of the Vulkings, whose heavy taxation is forcing the Dalecarl yeomen out of their holdings. The protagonist Airar Alvarson is one of the dispossessed. On the advice of his mentor, the magician Meliboë, he joins the underground Iron Ring resistance, only to face defeat and failure. Captured and enslaved by the free fishers on the Gentebbi Islands, he goes through a series of adventures in which he gradually rises from a homeless fugitive to a great war leader.During his quest Alvarson gives much thought to the issues of honor, war, justice and government. He finds admirable qualities even in his enemies, and problematic ones in some of his allies. Always questioning where the right lies and what principles should guide his course, he feels his way to his goals as best he can. He finds magic a poor tool for defeating enemies or winning battles, as the small enchantments of which he is capable make him ill and gain him little. The great Empire across the sea, to which all parties pay at least a nominally fealty, seems to offer at least a symbolic solution; it guards the legendary Well of the Unicorn, which brings peace to those who drink from it. But its panacea is a deceptive one; those who do drink tend to find the peace so gained offset by new difficulties. The long, hard road of forging armies, building alliances, and waging war, without any mystical short cuts, proves the only effectual path.
At the end of the novel, with the assistance of the Star-Captains of Carrhoene, Alvarson has succeeded in overthrowing the Vulkings and freeing Dalarna, and won the emperor's daughter as his bride to boot. But it seems he will have no rest, as word comes that the heathens of Djik have invaded the isles of his allies, the free fishers. When his wife urges him to drink of the Well with the invaders, he declines such facile solutions, countering that "There is no peace but that interior to us."
Setting
According to critic Henry Wessells, the Dalarna of the novel "closely parallels medieval Denmark and ... much of [its] "real-world" history can be found in The Third King (1950), Pratt's study of 14th-century King Valdemar IV AtterdagValdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...
.
Reception
The novel received favorable reviews, notably by Orville Prescott and Alice S. Morris in The New York Times (January 9, 1948, and February 29, 1948, respectively), Paul Jordan-Smith in the Los Angeles Times (January 18, 1948, and Edward Wagenknecht in the Chicago Daily Tribune (February 22, 1948).Prescott viewed the book as reminiscent of Austin Tappan Wright
Austin Tappan Wright
Austin Tappan Wright was an American legal scholar and author, best remembered for his major work of Utopian fiction, Islandia...
's Islandia
Islandia
Islandia is a latinization of the word Ísland' from original Iceland language'. Islandia can refer to:* Iceland – a country in the Atlantic Ocean* Islandia, Florida – a city in Miami-Dade County in the United States...
and E. R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros
The Worm Ouroboros
The Worm Ouroboros is a heroic high fantasy novel by Eric Rücker Eddison, first published in 1922. The book describes the protracted war between the domineering King Gorice of Witchland and the Lords of Demonland in an imaginary world that appears mainly medieval and partly reminiscent of Norse sagas...
and Mistress of Mistresses
Mistress of Mistresses
Mistress of Mistresses is the first novel in the Zimiamvian Trilogy by Eric Rücker Eddison. It centers on political intrigues between the nobles and rulers of the Three Kingdoms of Rerek, Meszria and Fingiswold, following the death of King Mezentius, an extraordinary ruler who has held sway over...
, though not "in a class with them." He felt the author "quite wonderful [in] creating a world of his own and competent enough [in] telling a story of heroic action" but "no hand at characterization," with his characters "only picturesque shadows." He also thought the novel's "allegorical significance" weak, with the result that it "starts out superbly, trumpets blaring and banners flying," but "peters out sadly." In regard to style, he was pleased by "some of its archaisms" and found "some of its stiff rhythms ... flavorsome," but thought "the over-all effect ... pedantic and a bit wearisome."
To Morris, in contrast, the book was a "tour de force." She found "real pleasure and power" in "the enormous romantic adventure of the story," stating the author had "pinned down [his] strange country ... with brilliant exactness," with his "accurate archaisms ... giving a rare and racy flavor to his created world."
Jordan-Smith noted that the novel did "not conform to the conventions of the period [but] deserve[s] special attention." Comparing it to the fantasies of Cabell
James Branch Cabell
James Branch Cabell, ; April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles lettres. Cabell was well regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken and Sinclair Lewis. His works were considered escapist and fit well in the culture of the 1920s, when his...
and Eddison, he called it "a heroic yarn, crowded with both magic and lusty action; but the thoughtful reader will discover that he is never far away from the problem that gnaws at his own vitals."
Wagenknecht called the novel a "brilliantly written book" and "a straightforward, coherent narrative of exciting adventure" with "[f]or dressing ... love in all its manifestations from lust to glory." He too compared it to the works of Cabell and Eddison, as well as Lord Dunsany, "to whom, indeed, it is somewhat indebted" (an allusion to Pratt's acknowledged adoption of the setting of Dunsany's play King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior
Five Plays
Five Plays is the eighth book by Anglo-Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin and others...
).
L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
praised the novel as not merely "a colorful and fast-moving adventure-fantasy," but also an exploration of "the philosophy of government: how can men be organized to fight for their freedom without irretrievably losing that freedom in the process."
The book was also reviewed in Fantasy Book, 1948, The Arkham Sampler, Spring 1948, Lester del Rey in If, November 1969, Mary H. Schaub in Locus, November 21, 1969, del Rey again in Worlds of Fantasy, Winter 1970, Stuart David Schiff in Whispers, December 1975, Alan Winston in Delap's F & SF Review, December 1976, Orson Scott Card in Destinies, Spring 1980, and Henry Wessells in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 1999.
Wessells called the novel "anything but dry: Pratt's characters (and their sex lives) are very different from Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's rather idealized world." His pronouncement is that it "is well worth reading in any form."