Curtis reviewed Tolkien on Fairy-Stories by Verlyn Flieger
Review of 'Tolkien on Fairy-Stories' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I've read Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories" quite a few times now, but this is the first I've read this critical edition. The essay is always enjoyable, but of course I found even more value in the editorial commentary. The history of the different versions was well done, not nearly so dry as sometimes such descriptions tend to be.
I admit that I did not read through the two manuscript versions in detail, nor their commentary, which combined consists of about 1/3 of the book. Even so, I'm marking this one done, as for all practical purposes, I have read everything I intended to.