World Fantasy Award winner Patricia A. McKillip (The Forgotten Beasts of Eld) has inspired generations of readers with her enchanting, and subversive fiction. This lovely hardcover career-retrospective edition offers McKillip's finest short stories. Featuring an original introduction by Ellen Kushner (Swordspoint) and cover art from frequent McKillip illustrator Thomas Canty, THE ESSENTIAL PATRICIA A. MCKILLIP is a must-have for fans of classic fantasy. Patricia A. McKillip has been widely hailed as one of fantasy's most significant authors. She was lauded as 'rich and regal' (the New York Times), 'enchanting' (the Washington Post), and 'luminous' (Library Journal). Within McKillip's magical landscapes, a mermaid statue comes to life; princesses dance with dead suitors; a painting and a muse possess a youthful artist; seductive sea travellers enrapture distant lovers, a time-traveling angel endures religious madness; and an overachieving teenage mage discovers her own true name.