The protagonist Ramon, is made to be very human. Dunsany's characterization is very strong, with none of the stereotypes one expects from the chivalric legend he seems to imitate. He portrays a world where the fantastic is commonplace, if dwindling, and fate plays as much a role as action. The Charwoman's Shadow reads like a myth, although less so than some of Dunsany's other work. Although the magician is more than willing to share his knowledge, he demands as price Ramon's shadow, an item more valuable than it first seems. From the magician he is to learn the alchemical secret of making "baser metals" into gold. As his noble birth precludes him from taking up a profession, Ramon Alonzo is told to seek a magician in a nearby forest who owed a favor to his grandfather. Without spoiling too much, the plot concerns Ramon Alonzo Matthew-Mark-Luke-John of the Tower and Rocky Forest who is sent by his father, the lord of this region, to acquire a dowry for his sister Mirandola. The book is set in a semi-imaginary Spain during an unspecified era, (from the particulars of the story 16th or 17th century), the chief difference being that Spain was very likely never this wonderful. While it's often the case that Dunsany's novels fall significantly short of the quality of his short stories, I found The Charwoman's Shadow to be an exceptionally worthwile read. A novel by Lord Dunsany, first published in 1926.
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