Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997)
Phoenix
Tagged: Theme.
A fabulous Bird said to immolate itself upon its nest at regular intervals in order to be reborn and renewed. It was used by alchemists (see Alchemy) as a symbol of their endeavours, and hence was adopted as a shop-sign by early chemists. Notable fantasies featuring phoenixes include The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904) by E Nesbit, the title novella of The Man Who Ate the Phoenix (coll 1949) by Lord Dunsany and Roger Lancelyn Green's From the World's End (1948); the last was reprinted with Edmund Cooper's "The Firebird" (see SFE link below) in Double Phoenix (anth 1971), intro Lin Carter. [BS]
links
- The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: Edmund Cooper