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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gizmo33" data-source="post: 3886552" data-attributes="member: 30001">Well yes, it's a story after all.  But it's not "escapism" when it dwells on/expands the very anxieties that your statement implies people were trying to escape from - whether it's invasion by the Soviets, or the ostracism of returning war veterans, or whatever.Me neither, I think we're saying the same thing here.  What I was trying to establish earlier is that the cause and effect of America's over all "mood" vs. the popularity of fantasy literature (much of it British anyway) was something I didn't see a clear connection with.  AFAICT people seemed and seem in the mood for all sorts of kinds of entertainment and it's possible that the most popular stuff is simply that which is done the best.That's an interesting point.  I think that the risk of being put to death by a king for what you write or being ostracized socially for what you write probably have some similarities in the way people work around it.  I'm not an expert on the period but I wonder how much of Arthurian Legend, Robin Hood, Charlemange, etc. stories were told with similar motives.Wasn't the 1890s the time of Gothic literature?  Hopefully this doesn't lead us back to Frankenstein, Dracula, etc. not being fantasy.  Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the stories of Arthur, Robin Hood, Roland, the Illiad etc. were basically on the bookshelves of every young boy who could afford them.  Wasn't Bullfinch's mythology published at this time?  I have some compilations of "fantasy" (I believe the book is titled "Treasury of Fantasy") from exactly this time period, I think, though that doesn't argue for popularity.  What is the basis of your opinion on the existence of the low-point?</blockquote>

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