Dwarfs

by Ellen Galford

Shares stories about magical dwarfs, a powerful sword, a miniature kingdom, a dwarf king's bride, a magical belt, changlings, and the relationships between dwarfs and peasants

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Fiction, Folklore, Reference, Paranormal, Art

141 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Ellen Galford is a Scottish writer of fiction and nonfiction.

Reviews

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

You’ll notice the author and Time-Life books have chosen to use the traditional version of plural of dwarf - Dwarfs. In fact it was Tolkein who popularized the now accepted plural spelling - dwarves. I find it fitting here, as the tales of old dwarfs here come from well beyond Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and the sort of solidification that Tolkein’s version gave the race - ie. he popularized the stereotype. Eventually though the Dwarfs books are similar to Fairies and Elves at least in behavior. It’s just another collection of similar stories, swapping one title for another.

Chapter One - “Stern Sons of the Earth” - It opens with Norse dwarves and tells how the race began soon after Odin Ymir, using his flesh to make the earth. The maggots that crawled from the flesh became dwarfs. Corpse grey and subterranean troglodytes, the gods look down on them but needed weapons that the dwarfs by their magical craftsmanship alone could provide.

Chapter Two - “The Diminutive Nobility” - in time the dwarfs lost the capacity to treat with the Gods to the gods and walked among mortals. With the pagan gods dead and the Christian Church dominant, a new world had dawned. Even so, a few dwarf kings were not afraid and outshone their cave-dwelling ancestors in splendor. The dwarfs adapted well to Christian Europe, befriending mortals for a time, until they became tricksters.

Chapter 3 - “An Ancient Race in Retreat” - and Chapter 4 - “Haunters of Hearth and Hayloft” - discuss the further decline of the dwarfish race into thieves and tricksters. As civilization grew and men moved away from a more naturalistic state with the Earth, Dwarfen attitudes towards human changes. As humans took on a surpassed Dwarf arts, they became jealous and obstructed - ie. Gremlins, Tommyknockers. The last remaining few lived in fear of mortal enslavement.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is similar in appearance, style, and presentation to other volumes in the Time-Life Enchanted World series, but contains content focusing on yet another creature of myth and fantasy: the dwarf. As with other Enchanted World volumes, "Dwarfs" contains numerous color illustrations that make it an aesthetically pleasing book. While the text is likely not detailed enough for use as source material for academia, it is an informative, introductory read for those unfamiliar with the fantasy genre, and even those well-versed in myth or fantasy are likely to find some interesting information between the covers of this book.

[Athena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't own this one yet, that's why it's in the to-read section. I do know however that it will be just as wonderful as it's counterparts.

My review for all of these books in this series is the same.

Time-Life has once again done an outstanding job putting together a series. From cover to cover they are thoughtful, beautiful books. I'm starting to sound generic, but it's true.
I'm a DK fan, I like white backgrounds and side notes with clear sections for every subject. This series has none of that. What they do have is an old book feel. Timeless artwork, thoroughness, and very well written makes these a must on my occult/paranormal bookshelf at home. I've been collecting the series slowly over several years and still have a few books to go. I refuse to go on amazon and buy them. It's all in the hunt for me. There is no subject they have left untouched. I highly recommend them.

[Sandy Mclaughlin-rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite series, this book along with others in the series, is beautifully illustrated and captivates your imagination immediately!

[Amy Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!! Normally not super into Dwarves,this book brought them to life vividly and made them just as interesting and magical as Gnomes or Trolls. The book is very well written, very interesting and the author sure had his thesaurus handy,lots of unusual words! It follows the history of Dwarves from the very beginnings in Scandinavian sagas until their seeming disappearance from the knowledge of mortals. Chock full of stunning stories that I got totally lost in.
Huge bonus,this book contains artwork by one of my favorite artists,James C Christiansen!! So that was wonderful!
I hadn't heard of this series of books before,but now I'd certainly like to read more of them.

[Katrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a magical awesome book! stories about dwarves and dwarflike creatures from different countries and regions are retold, accompanied by illustrations and drawings. beautiful work, enjoyed it a lot! there could have been a bit more order and glossaries, but other than that, a joy to read! can't wait for the other books in the series i have.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another of the beautiful books of this series, Dwarfs starts us out with their protrayal in Norse legend, and then walks us through the great kingdoms of magical and highly skilled miners and metal crafters, to leprechans, house and farm elves, dangerously alienated dwarfs, and finally their leaving us because of their disillusionment. Beautifully illustrated and told.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing collection that covers many legends and mythical tales about the creatures that are small in stature, but big in all they do. Always look for winning reads from the time-life company.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great companion to their earlier book on fairies.

[Adrian Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fourth in series. Review at conclusion.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Especially love the illustrations in this series!

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the other books in this series (which I was fortunate enough to stumble upon) this is a wonderful collection of various stories and tales from around the world. Obviously the focus for this subject is dwarfs, and there are many varieties of stories, some heart warming, some tragic, and some bitter-sweet. I could see much of the inspiration in other books I have read from these tales, and the beautiful artwork enriched the telling of said tales.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book in a flea market and loved the cover design and picked it up. I'm so glad I did, the content is every bit as enchanting!

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of short articles and stories.