Recs if you like Rhetorics of Fantasy...

Fantasy nonfiction, or books about the nature of the fantastic (and the lives of some of its most ardent devotees) for those of us who'd like to leave the comfort of our Hobbit holes and brave the literary wilderness.

Non-exhaustive list of foundational reading for the fantasy genre; either foundational texts or classics that influenced the development of the genre and its conventions. Also some key modern texts + criticism.

This list focuses on the cultural and intellectual history of the fantasy genre, and on its evolution from myths, folklore, to being dismissed as childish, to being respected as a real genre. It explains how the genre works, how the authors use the mechanics of worldbuilding and systems of magic as a way to understand human nature and how women writers changed the rules.

Do not hesitate if you have any recommendations!

A personal study in gothic lit, fantasy, mythology, and the writing of it.

Have you ever wanted a PhD in English Lit? Do you think fantasy is a legitimate field of literary criticism? Would you like a glimpse into the psyche of someone who does?

These are the books included (or excerpted from) on my comprehensive exams list for a dissertation on fantasy. It is not even a remotely comprehensive list of fantasy texts and criticism (yes, I see the irony).