(13) ALBERTO MANGUEL & GIANNI GUADALUPI –

THE DICTIONARY OF IMAGINARY PLACES (1980)

Again, exactly what it says on the tin – a literal dictionary in alphabetical order of entries for imaginary places.

However, there’s a fine line between the imaginary places of mythology and those of literature or fantasy, with many entries in the latter. For example, I would argue that Atlantis transcended its (minor) literary origins in the works of Plato to become mythic. Even when Plato wrote it, he attributed it to Egyptian records of it. And so on, with imaginary or legendary places such as Hyperborea or Eldorado – although the imaginary places of mythology lose out somewhat with places off the planet Earth (albeit more exclusive of SF locales) as well as “heavens and hells”.

Again, the publisher’s blurb sums it up:

“This Baedeker of make-believe takes readers on a tour of more than 1,200 realms invented by storytellers from Homer’s day to our own. Here you will find Shangri-La and El Dorado, Utopia and Middle Earth, Wonderland and Freedonia.”

RATING:

A-TIER (TOP TIER)