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A Guide To Free Fantasy Books in the Public Domain

Fantasy is a great genre with a long history and one of the benefits of this long history is the availability of a lot of great books that are now in the public domain. A lot of these books can be freely downloaded or of course bought. here are some suggestions on some of the best books that came out of the early years of fantasy and are now free! You have no doubt heard of some of these fantasy books but some of them you probabably haven't heard of, yet they are true classics of the genre. Here is information about the books and where to get them.

William Morris Books

William Morris is considered to be the father of modern epic fantasy. He first put together the formula of a young man tossed into a grand adventure in a magica world. It is the classic epic fantasy quest story and Tolkien himself pays homage to Morris as one of his inspirations.

The Well at World's End Learn more

If you are a fan of epic fantasy and you have never heard of William Morris then you are in for a real treat. It all started with the publication in 1892 of his novel The Well at the World's End. This is an outstanding piece of Epic Fantasy and it is considered to be the first epic fantasy work of the modern era.

Here is a quick synopsis of the novel : The youngest son of a king (Ralph of Upmeads) runs away from home and kingdom, but before he goes his godmother gives him a necklace with a bead on it. He overcomes many obstacles and challenges on the way to his destiny at the well at the world's end.

Does this sound familiar. It is a template that many have further expanded on and some of the more familiar modern day masters such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien have openly proclaimed homage to Morris.

Download zip file of novel in .txt format - You can read the novel right now in your web browser

The Wood Beyond the World (Considering purchasing this novel? Learn More here)

Another classic epic fantasy tale by William is The Wood Beyond The World This one is a tale of a hero named Walter and his epic sea voyage. This novel and The Well at the World's End are works that absolutely have to be in the collection of any fan of epic fantasy.

Download zip file of novel in .txt format

Edith Nesbit The Mother of Modern Children's Fantasy

Five CHildren and It

Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit (Considering purchasing this novel? Learn More here)

The story begins when a group of children move from London to the countryside of Kent. While playing in a gravel pit soon after the move, they uncover a rather grumpy, ugly and occasionally malevolent sand-fairy known as the Psammead who is compelled to grant one wish of theirs per day.

Download zip file of the novel in .txt format

Read the novel right now in your web browser (Nothing to download)

Edgar Rice Burroughs - An astonishingly prolific author from the times of HG Wells. He wrote a lot of stuff you are familiar with including The Lost Continent, Pellucidar, Thuvia and Tarzan. Many of the Edgar Rice Burroughs books are available for free from Gutenburg.org. Here is the link: Free Edgar Rice Burroughs books at Gutenburg.org

The John Carter of Mars Series - A wonderful science fiction and fantasy series composed of 11 Books The first book is A Princess of Mars. I have The Second Book in this series "The Gods of Mars" Available for download or for reading in your browser right here on this website:

Read this novel for free online in your web browser

Download this novel in plain .tx format and read at your leisure

Some Other Works to consider:

 

 

 

here some great fantasy websites:

Storm The Castle.com - Fantasy and creativity with an edge

Epic-Fantasy.com - website devoted to the genre of epic fantasy

The Fantasy Guide - The complete guide to fantasy on the web

The Heroic Dreams Fantasy blog - daily updates and info on the genre in movies books and more

The Heroic Dreams Forum - Come share your thoughts and opinions on the genre of fantasy

Knight-Medieval.com Everything about Knights from weapons to armor, chivalry and more.

 

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