From the ghost stories of the Gothic to the zombies and vampires of twenty-first-century popular literature, from Mrs Radcliffe to Ms Rowling, the fantastic has been popular with readers for over a century. Since Tolkien and his many imitators, it has become a major publishing phenomenon. In this book, critics and authors of fantasy look at its history since the Enlightenment, introduce readers to some of the different codes for the reading and understanding of fantasy, and examine some of the many varieties and subgenres of fantasy, from magical realism at the more literary end of the genre, to paranormal romance at the more popular end. This book is an ideal place to start for anyone who is looking for a thorough introduction to the form.