Month: July 2022

Diana Wynne Jones’s The Homeward Bounders and the Wandering Jew in Fantasy Literature

~ Michael ~ 2 Comments

In Diana Wynne Jones’s 1981 children’s fantasy The Homeward Bounders, the 12 year old main character Jamie meets the Wandering Jew. A homeless man with filthy clothes and hair, he appears sprawled out in a city park. “His watery black eyes gleamed with a mad light,” we read, “and his nose stuck out from below … Continue reading Diana Wynne Jones’s The Homeward Bounders and the Wandering Jew in Fantasy Literature

Jews and Politics in the Bartimaeus Series

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King Solomon’s genies periodically escape their bottles in fantasy literature, but never more irrepressibly than in Jonathan Stroud’s bestselling Bartimaeus series for young readers. These books, a trilogy published from 2003 to 2005, followed by a 2010 prequel, provide rollicking fun, driven by the irreverent narration of their demon protagonist--who frequently punctuates the text with … Continue reading Jews and Politics in the Bartimaeus Series

King Solomon, from the Bible to the Pulps

~ Michael ~ 4 Comments

One Occult Jew deserves separate consideration. In both medieval legend and modern fantasy, the greatest of all Jewish magicians is without question Solomon, the famously wise king of biblical Israel. Son of the charismatic King David, the real-life Solomon ruled the prosperous and powerful Israelite kingdom for four decades at the height of its regional … Continue reading King Solomon, from the Bible to the Pulps

The Occult Jew, pt. 8

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The final post in the series (though I will return to the topic). In the 1990s the occult returned to fantasy literature. An increasing number of works of fantasy, including many of that decade’s most accomplished, feature secret societies, ritual magic, arcane academies, motifs and ideas drawn from Renaissance hermeticism, and historical and urban environments … Continue reading The Occult Jew, pt. 8

The Occult Jew, pt. 7

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The most welcome appearance of the Occult Jew during the period of the fantasy genre's consolidation occurs in John Bellairs’ The Face in the Frost (1969). One of my favorite fantasy novels, this book mixes Tolkienian fantasy and occult motifs. Its two heroes, both good-natured wizards, bear names that index, not norse eddas or fairytales, … Continue reading The Occult Jew, pt. 7