Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers

Infobox Book
name = Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: the Makers of Heroic Fantasy
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Dust-jacket illustration by Tim Kirk for "Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers"
author = L. Sprague de Camp
illustrator =
cover_artist = Tim Kirk
country = United States
language = English
series =
subject = biography
genre =
publisher = Arkham House
release_date = 1976
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = xxix, 313 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-87054-076-9
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: the Makers of Heroic Fantasy" is a 1976 work of collective biography on the formative authors of the heroic fantasy genre by L. Sprague de Camp, published by Arkham House in an edition of 5,431 copies. Most of its chapters are revised versions of articles that initially appeared in the magazine "Fantastic" from 1971-1976.

The work presents the history of the genre through a discussion of the lives and works of its most important early writers. After a general survey of the development of modern fantasy, individual chapters deal with William Morris, Lord Dunsany, H. P. Lovecraft, E. R. Eddison, Robert E. Howard, Fletcher Pratt, Clark Ashton Smith, J. R. R. Tolkien, and T. H. White. A final chapter concerns lesser or later literary lights C. L. Moore, Leslie Barringer, Nictzin Dyalhis, Clifford Ball, Henry Kuttner, Norvell W. Page and Fritz Leiber.

The book includes an introduction by de Camp's colleague Lin Carter, who remedies what he considers de Camp's most egregious omission by providing a profile of de Camp himself (also a formative author in the genre).

De Camp also produced separate full-length biographies of two of the authors treated, H. P. Lovecraft (' (1975)) and Robert E. Howard (' (1983)).

Contents

"Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: the Makers of Heroic Fantasy" contains the following:

# "Introduction: Neomythology", by Lin Carter
# I. "The Swords of Faërie"
# II. "Jack of All Arts: William Morris"
# III. "Two Men in One: Lord Dunsany"
# IV. "Eldritch Yankee Gentleman: H. P. Lovecraft"
# V. "Superman in a Bowler: E.R. Eddison"
# VI. "The Miscast Barbarian: Robert E. Howard"
# VII. "Parallel Worlds: Fletcher Pratt"
# VIII. "Sierran Shaman: Clark Ashton Smith"
# IX. "Merlin in Tweeds: J.R.R. Tolkien"
# X. "The Architect of Camelot: T.H. White"
# XI. "Conan's Compeers"
# Notes
# Index