The Charwoman's Shadow

A novel of duty and destiny from the pioneering fantasy author, the “inventor of a new mythology and weaver of surprising folklore” (H. P. Lovecraft). In Spain, Gonsalvo, the Lord of the Tower, is in a bind. His daughter is nearing her fifteenth year and should marry soon, yet she has no dowry. To cure the ills of his impoverished family, Gonsalvo turns to his son, Ramon Alonzo. He tells Ramon Alonzo the story of his grandfather, who is owed a favor by a magician. Now that the family is in dire need of money, Gonsalvo sends Ramon Alonzo to the forests beyond Aragona to meet the sorcerer and learn the secrets of the Black Art, in particular, the act of transmuting base metals into gold. Ramon Alonzo does as he is told. But he is warned by the magician’s charwoman that the wizard’s fees are too high to pay. After gifting her with immortality, the magician took her shadow, making her an outcast among the villagers. Heeding her words yet unwilling to give up on his mission, Ramon Alonzo will have to decide just what he is willing to sacrifice—for money, for his family, and for love . . . “Dunsany’s best stories remain unique: nobody else has ever been able to capture his visions.” —Ursula K. Le Guin, Los Angeles Times Book Review “Perhaps the strongest single influence in the development of fantasy fiction in the present century.” —L. Sprague de Camp “Lord Dunsany is the great grandfather of us all.” —Jane Yolen, winner of the National Book Award, Nebula Award, and World Fantasy Award