I took a trip to London today, something I haven’t done for a long time and that’s mostly because the more they set about the place to improve it, the worse it gets, but I guess every generation will say that. The London I know (and loved) from the eighties and early nineties is not the version the people who lived through the sixties and seventies saw and that’s a stone cold fact.
This is where you have to bring in that well known phrase of the last few years to explain why this is:
“It is what it is.”
Joe Clark even wrote a song to celebrate the new phrase:
(I think article interspersed with junk that has nothing to do with what you’re writing about might be the future - expect lots more of it.)
Anyway, here’s what I went to at the British Library:
And here’s the official word on the street:
From epic visions to intricately envisaged details, the British Library's latest exhibition celebrates some of the finest fantasy creators, reveals how their imagined lands, languages and creatures came into being, and delves into the traditions of a genre that has created some of the most passionate and enduring fandoms.
Journey from fairy tales and folklore to the fantastical worlds of Studio Ghibli. Travel through Middle-earth and into the depths of Pan's Labyrinth. And discover how the oldest forms of literature continue to inspire fantasy authors, filmmakers and game producers today.
The big question however, is… Was It Any Good?
And the answer is both yes and no. Let’s run with the ‘no’ list first because thankfully, it’s pretty short.
Warhammer collectors cards? I guess it kind of comes under the banner but hardly in the realm of something that belongs in The British Library. It’s also not very big - the cup of tea I drank in the (excellent) cafe lasted longer than the time it took to see everything. My one other gripe (and it’s a small but massive one) - no Clive Barker? Not even a whisper of his name scrawled in pencil?
Really? Seriously? Really seriously?
Ah well. Let’s look at some good stuff. I’m not sure photography was allowed because a security guard followed me around but he was old and slow, so here’s some photographs:
Here’s a pic of McKellen’s Gandalf staff from LOTR:
Couldn’t work out whether it was a real stick or made from some kind of resin. I would guess resin might save it from nasty accidents during filming but it sure looked like wood to me. It also appears to have a coffin nail put through it… here’s a close up:
Now this is neat - an original exercise book featuring Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin:
If I recall correctly, this one is Gormenghast (Mervyn Peake) but it could also be from Titus Groan:
I’m not the biggest fan in the world of Peake but I like these above two examples because it goes to show what you can achieve in a tatty exercise book with a plain old regular pen… you can do magical things with these simple as hell tools that you can Never Ever Achieve by typing onto a screen.
And like I say (elsewhere on the internet) On Paper, You Can Live Forever.
There’s nowhere in the world exhibiting a typed and Hewlett-Packard printed manuscript by Nobody In Particular that’s for sure.
This next one… if I recall correctly - is a ‘shared world’ fantasy novel called Glass Town by Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne Brontë (no, I’d never heard of it either). One can only assume that this was The Only Notebook they had and needed to make it last a really, really long time because, well… check out the size of this handwriting:
I’m not going to go through everything on display, so to wrap up, here’s an original first edition copy of The Wizard Of Oz and one of the plates that originally inspired Alan Garner’s (brilliant is every way) Owl Service.
Ultimately, it was very enjoyable and dirt cheap at £16 a ticket. Somehow though, I expected more - because there is more out there without falling back on mass produced Warhammer junk. I know there is. There’s a million tons of fantasy related art out there and I may not like all of it but I’d have appreciated the chance to walk past it in disgust all the same.
Remember this bit from the event description earlier on
“…and into the depths of Pan's Labyrinth.”
That amounted to a couple of scenes from the film being shown on a mounted flat-screen. So when I say I expected more, I don’t think I’m being unreasonable.
But if you fancy it (for the good bits), it’s on until the 25th February.
To wrap up the exhibition properly in my own head, here’s a picture of my first edition of Clive Barker’s Imajica. Not only the greatest fantasy novel ever written, but simply The Greatest Novel Ever Written. Ever. (Personally, I would never call it fantasy more like ‘otherworldly’ and it should have been in there).
And there’s stacks of exhibitable art from various projects about it. Sadly, that original cover sucks diesel through a straw. I’ve just found an illustrated collectors version of it here which I am no considering selling a guitar and a kidney in order to own said item because the damn thing is sold out.
Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!