Stephen R. Donaldson, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever

Dennis Wilson Wise (University of Arizona)

Ed. by Dimitra Fimi, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1977 - 1979

Places

United States (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Fantasy

Resources

Today, despite the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and the Gap sequence, Stephen R. Donaldson remains best known for his first trilogy of fantasy, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (1977), which undeniably cemented Donaldson’s canonical status as a fantasy writer. Readers particularly admired the vividness of Donaldson’s world and the intensely fevered—even anguished—pitch of his most climactic scenes. The trilogy’s stark thematic originality furthermore beguiled critics and readers alike. The Chronicles tell the story of Thomas Covenant, a leper in our “real” world who, due to his disease, has been ostracized by his community and abandoned …

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2706 words

Citation: Wise, Dennis Wilson. "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2018 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38853, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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