Stephen R. Donaldson, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever

Dennis Wilson Wise (University of Arizona)

Ed. by Dimitra Fimi, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1977 - 1979

Places

United States (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Fantasy

Resources

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Recommended Reading

Today, despite the

Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

and the

Gap

sequence, Stephen R. Donaldson remains best known for his first trilogy of fantasy,

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever

(1977), which undeniably cemented Donaldson’s canonical status as a fantasy writer. Readers particularly admired the vividness of Donaldson’s world and the intensely fevered—even anguished—pitch of his most climactic scenes. The trilogy’s stark thematic originality furthermore beguiled critics and readers alike.

The Chronicles

tell the story of Thomas Covenant, a leper in our “real” world who, due to his disease, has been ostracized by his community and abandoned by his wife. Surviving leprosy, a condition with deep theological resonances, requires immense self-discipline and…

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2706 words

Citation: Wise, Dennis Wilson. "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38853, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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