Collecting Highlights

1/1/2006:  "The Quest of a Sensible Man" (short story)
by Cheryl Miller

"The Quest of a Sensible Man" tells the story of Prince Bieregard of Mundesland, who is on a quest to find a mare worthy of his winged stallion Vard. When they are forced to take shelter from a storm in a forest, it seems they may have found the object of their quest -- but the enchanted forest may not be so easy to escape.

This is a pure fantasy tale, similar in style and length to three others written by Anne: An Exchange of Gifts, No One Noticed the Cat, and If Wishes Were Horses. "The Quest of a Sensible Man" is the only one of this set that was published in an anthology rather than as an individual novella, and is also the first one to have been published.

This story appears in Once Upon a Time: A Treasury or Modern Fairy Tales, edited by Lester Del Rey and Risa Kessler. This hardcover was first published in November 1991 by Del Rey in New York, and sold for $25 (US). This book was also published by Legend Books in London in November 1991 as both a hardcover and a trade paperback, and by the Science Fiction Book Club in January 1992.

One color illustration by Michael Pangrazio goes with the story. Pangrazio did illustrations for each of the other tales in the anthology, as well as the cover art. He used to work as a matte and special effects painter for Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic, and now runs his own special effects company.

As of 1/1/2006, a few copies of Once Upon a Time are currently available through online booksellers, from prices ranging from $14-120 (US).  For tips on locating copies of this or other items, email Cheryl (address in page footer) or post a message at A Meeting of Minds.

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