Little, Big (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: John Crowley
- First Published: 1981
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy—Magical Realism
- Time of Work: The 1880’s to the near future
- Setting: The Edgewood estate in upstate New York and New York City
- Genres: Long fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Changelings or cuckoos, Folkloric or magical people, Nineteenth century, New York City, Future, Metamorphosis or transmogrification, Fairies
- Locales: New York, NY, New York
The Plot
The novel begins in the middle of what the characters self- consciously call the Tale. Smoky Bar-nable, a shy and old-fashioned bachelor from New York City (called only “the City”), journeys to the idiosyncratically built and literally magical estate, Edgewood, to marry his destined love, Alice Dale Drinkwater (nicknamed Daily Alice). The story unfolds both backward and forward, from the founding of the clan by architect John Drinkwater and his fey wife Violet Bramble (daughter of a spiritualist reverend) to the tale’s culmination, in which Daily Alice’s...
[The entire page is 953 words long]
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