Tales of War is a melancholy, atypical, and occasionally surprising book by the author of The Gods of Pegana and The King of Elfland's Daughter. It was written for a political rather than artistic purpose, but because it was painfully inspired from life (and death) and because it is written by a great writer, it is far more than just a curio. It also crosses more than once into the fantastic realm, which is partly why it is of interest to readers of Dunsany's classic fantasy works.
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, Baron of Dunsany (1878 – 1957) was an Irish writer and dramatist, notable for his work, mostly in fantasy, published under the name Lord Dunsany. More than eighty books of his work were published, and his oeuvre includes many hundreds of published short stories, as well as successful plays, novels and essays. Lord Dunsany is the author of such celebrated works as The Book of Wonder (1912) and The King of Elfland's Daughter (1924). Over the course of a career that spanned more than five decades, Dunsany wrote thousands of stories, plays, novels, essays, poems, and reviews, and his work was translated into more than a dozen languages. Today, Dunsany's work is experiencing a renaissance, as many of his earlier works have been reprinted and much attention has been paid to his place in the history of fantasy and supernatural literature.