The Gods of Pegāna

The Gods of Pegāna, Lord Dunsany’s first published book, is a strange and wondrous creation. In it he creates the pantheon of gods who rule over the titular world. The prose alternates between being biblical, high-minded, and childish, with the gods frustrating their human subjects through their single-minded and often completely inscrutable actions. When they’re not busy being mysterious, they’re busy taking revenge on each other.It’s possible these short tales were written to convey lessons about life, death, and the nature of belief, though the rhythmic simplicity of the prose and the strange and often petty nature of the gods leaves that up to debate. Regardless, The Gods of Pegāna is a fascinating and influential read. The Gods of Pegāna is the first book by Anglo-Irish writer Lord Dunsany, published in 1905. The fantasy book was reviewed favourably but as an unusual piece. One of the more influential reviews was by Edward Thomas in the London Daily Chronicle.ContentsThe book is a series of short stories linked by Dunsany’s invented pantheon of deities who dwell in Pegāna. It was followed by a further collection, Time and the Gods, and by some stories in The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories and possibly in Tales of Three Hemispheres.The book contains a range of illustrations by Sidney Sime, the originals of all of which can be seen at Dunsany Castle. In 1919 Dunsany told an American interviewer: 'In The Gods of Pegāna I tried to account for the ocean and the moon. I don’t know whether anyone else has ever tried that before'.