Like Lin Carter's other ... “Look behind” volumes (on J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P.Lovecraft), this book examines the background and creation of the imaginary worlds of some of the most famous writers to appear in the field of Adult Fantasy...

IMAGINARY WORLDS is a book about fantasy, about the men who write it, and how it is written. It is a joyful excursion by a man who himself loves fantasy, into the origins and the magicks of such writers as Dunsany, Eddison, Cabell: it examines the rise of fantasy in the American pulp magazines and delights in the sturdy health of 'sword and sorcery': it looks with pleasure on the works of some modern masters and knowledgeably explores the techniques of world-making.

It is, in short, a happy exploration of worlds, and men, and writers, and writings, by an author whose enthusiasm for his subject is boundless -- and is thus a joyful guide for fantasy lovers everywhere.