While I give Tolkien all kinds of credit for being the first modern fantasy author, let me point you in the direction of Lord Dunsany, who was writing in the 1920s.
I'd also like to point out that a large portion of the plot for The Hobbit was written while Tolkien was in the trenches in WWI. So wherever he got his idea for elves from, it most have been something even older. Given his connections to Celtish and Norse mythology, I guess it's possible that they come from those origins.
guess British authors decided that that wasn't as much fun to write about.
I don't think people would believe in pixies as mystical immortal beings with an innate magic, do you?
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2004-01-06 09:16 am (UTC)I'd also like to point out that a large portion of the plot for The Hobbit was written while Tolkien was in the trenches in WWI. So wherever he got his idea for elves from, it most have been something even older. Given his connections to Celtish and Norse mythology, I guess it's possible that they come from those origins.
guess British authors decided that that wasn't as much fun to write about.
I don't think people would believe in pixies as mystical immortal beings with an innate magic, do you?