Being Lost in Elfland

[Admin]

I was given the book, "An Atlas of Fantasy," way back in the early 80s. I would say 1984. In it was a black and white copy of the "Ancient Mappe of Fairyland" by Bernard Sleigh. Since that time I felt that it would work as a basis for some fantasy stories. I never could come up with a workable idea however.

I actually had a document with a story called "Elfland," but it never would develop. Nothing wrong with the character or setting, but it just never would catch on and inspire me to keep writing. I was however attempting to work with it when I got this idea of a fisherman fishing from a walkway in the middle of a southern forest. From there this story took off.

"Being Lost in Elfland" is the search for a lost boy. Knowledge of Bernard Sleigh's map could provide some enchantment to the reader, but the tale does not depend upon the map. What is interesting is that due to the changing nature of fairytales (both in how they are told and how certain ideas have altered) many of the characters made up by the author come across as actual people on the map, while those that appear as constructs of the author are actually figures on the map.