The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: an Annotation

Posted February 27, 2016 by Amy Wilson

As promised, this week I am posting my assignment from last week: my reference annotation from my 407 class. I don’t make it a habit to post assignments because I think it’s kind of unoriginal, but I think when you read about this reference source, you’ll understand why I am sharing. This book, The Dictionary of Imaginary Places, is fun to read and fun to write about. I’ve written a long and a short annotation below. Find out more about annotations at Purdue OWL.

(the long version)

This 755 page paperback volume from Harcourt Publishing is a travel guide for the imaginative reader. The original text, published in 1980, was followed by an expanded paperback run in 1987; this critically acclaimed third edition has been, according to the authors Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi, co-authored by their readers’ submissions. Illustrators Graham Greenfield, Eric Beddows, and James Cook have created 150 maps and 100 illustrations to accompany the 1000 plus text entries. The book includes an original foreword and an authors’ note for this edition. The authors explain that they have defined “imaginary” as places that cannot be visited and are not mapped in the real world or installed upon existing landscapes. The places must be on earth; there are no heavens or hells, and no places in the future. The authors have clearly researched their sources, taking for granted that fiction is fact. The Dictionary of Imaginary Places is at once entertaining and informative, highly appropriate for research and very easy to use. Each “imaginary place” is arranged alphabetically, in bold, followed by a description and a citation to the original literary work. Readers may make use of the index, which lists places under the original author’s name. Searching for a title or pseudonym will direct you to see the cross-referenced name authority. The authors include non-English titles in the original language (which are translated to English in parentheses). While the Los Angeles Times calls this book a “lively, opinionated ethnography of the unreal,” it is now seventeen years out of date and a new edition would be welcomed. The cover lists the original price as $28, but currently Amazon sells the paperback for $18.66, and the library binding at $36.05.

(the short version) 

From Harcourt, Alberto Manguel and Gianna Guadalupi created this 1999 third edition paperback as a guide to fantasy literature. Graham Greenfield, Eric Beddows, and James Cook created 150 maps and 100 illustrations to accompany the 1000 plus entries. Includes an original foreword and author’s note. Entertaining and informative, appropriate for research and easy to use. Arranged alphabetically, entries are followed by a description and citation to the original work. A cross-referenced index lists places under the original author’s name. The LA Times calls this book a “lively, opinionated ethnography of the unreal.” Via Amazon: paperback $18.66, library binding $36.05.

Citation:

Manguel, A. & Guadalupi, G. The Dictionary of Imaginary Places (1999). San Diego, Harcourt Inc.

Similar Works

Borges, J. L (2006). The Book of Imaginary Beings (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition). New York, Penguin House.

Eco, U. (2013). The Book of Legendary Lands. New York, Rizzoli Ex Libris. 

(RIP Umberto Eco!)

Rose, C. (2000). Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

VanderMeer, J. (2013). Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction. New York: Abrams.