AustLit

'Mircea Eliade (1907-86) co-existed in two worlds, the one of fantasy stories, the other of research into spirituality. In terms of fantasy fiction, Peter Lowentrout recognises the modern day relevance and need for Eliade's creative work with the sacred. In regard to his religious work, Eliade is regarded as 'one of the twentieth century's outstanding religious scholars.' and his Shamanism : Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy was considered a classic of its time. For Eliade, documenting the journey of metaphysical discovery was where his two worlds met. The documenting of the spiritual journey in fiction is neither new or unique to Eliade. Henry James documents the spiritual journey of his character Lewis Lambert Strether in The Ambassadors and references  Honore de Balzac's Louis Lambert (1832-33) which concerns a mystical thinker who ''while trying to write a treatise on the spiritual nature of the will falls in love with one Mll. De Villenois and then, just before his marriage, into a cataleptic fit. When Louis Lambert awakens he has transcended both reality and sanity.' Additionally, as the above example demonstrates, following a spiritual journey of a character does not necessarily mean a story will be considered speculative fiction or fantasy, for traditionally neither James nor Balzac are  catergorised as this type of writer. However, recognising the placement of a character on such a journey within the context of a science fiction/ fantasy can offer insight to the significance of the story. Furthermore, understanding the role of the shaman, as Eliade's dual life reveals, may also offer insight in the interpretation of fiction such as Ambelin Kwaymullina's The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf.' (Introduction)

'Representations of race in Australian fiction are often influences by and speak to Australia's colonial history and contemporary social tensions around issues of race. The genre of epic medievalist fantasy is no exception and indeed the healing of racial tensions surrounding a colonial past is frequently a prominent theme of Australian fantasy novels, As government policies and public opinions continually develop and change regarding matters of how to best address our colonial past and how Australia's population of indigenous people should be treated, the sociopolitical climate reflected in Australian fiction likewise alters. As it is beyond the scope of this work to examine the various shifts in thought over time, I have chosen to focus on fantasy fiction produced from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s. I will deal primarily with Sara Douglass' Axis Trilogy, published between 1995-1996, and Kate Forsyth's six book series The Witches of Eileanan, published between 1997 and 2002.' (Introduction)