Recs if you like The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature...

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).