Fantasy fiction collection by Ursula K. Le Guin
Tales from Earthsea is a collection of fantasy stories and essays by American author Ursula K. Le Guin, published by Harcourt in 2001. It serves as an accompaniment to the five novels (1968 to 2001) of the Earthsea cycle, all set in the fictional archipelago Earthsea.
"Tales from Earthsea" won the annual Endeavour Award, for the best book by a writer from the Pacific Northwest, and Locus Award, Best Collection, for speculative fiction collections.
Two of the five collected stories were previously published, "Darkrose and Diamond" (1999) and "Dragonfly" (1998), and both had been nominated for annual awards.
Contents.
"Darkrose and Diamond" was first published in "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction", October 1999. "Dragonfly" was first published in "Legends", October 1998.
Themes.
All of the stories reinterpret the world of Earthsea. In the original trilogy, Earthsea society in general and the practice of magic in particular are dominated by men. Women can only be witches, which is the despised lowest rank of the magical world, as expressed in the proverb "Weak as women's magic, wicked as women's magic".
The "Tales from Earthsea" stories try to redress the balance. It is disclosed that the Roke school had been established by women who were later excluded from it; and that Ogion, Ged's beloved tutor and mentor, had learned his magic from a master who had learned from an "unauthorised" woman mage. Other stories feature strong and assertive women who in various ways challenge male dominance.
References.
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Sources.
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