Missed this somehow, but Lloyd Alexander, author of the Prydain Chronicles, died Friday at the age of 83. This lovely Washington Post obituary for Alexander emphasizes the seriousness of spirit beneath the humor and fancifulness of his work:
“I used the imaginary kingdom not as a sentimentalized fairyland, but as an opening wedge to express what I hoped would be some very hard truths,” he once told an interviewer. “I never saw fairy tales as an escape or a cop-out. . . . On the contrary, speaking for myself, it is the way to understand reality.”
I very fondly remember reading his Prydain and Westmark books as a kid, and what I take away most from them is an increasing sense of world-weary, almost angry melancholy as the volumes progressed. The heroes of those books were changed by their adventures, and not always for the better. Receiving that message made me feel like I’d grown up a little bit. (You know what else had that vibe? Stanley Keisel’s The War Between the Pitiful Teachers and the Splendid Kids. Am I the only person who read that?)
Anyway, I wonder how long it will be before Alexander’s work gets the live-action film treatment.
I first read and enjoyed Alexander’s Prydain books as a smart-ass grad student taking courses in children’s and adolescent lit – and I’d love to see a good adaptation of the series. Remember feeling tremendously let-down by Disney’s mid-80’s animated attempt at The Black Cauldron, so it’d be great if it could be done properly . . .
I’d guess it’s only a matter of time, but I’m also wondering at what point the law of diminishing box-office returns kicks in for fantasy franchises. (Well, I guess with Eragon…)