Earthsea

Earthsea, also known as The Earthsea Cycle, is a series of high

Earthsea
fantasy books written by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin
and the name of their setting, a dense archipelago surrounded by
an uncharted ocean. There are six Earthsea books written between
1968 and 2001, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea and
continuing with The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu,
Tales from Earthsea, and The Other Wind. Unusually for a series,
Tales from Earthsea is a short story collection; the rest are novels.
There are also four additional short stories not in Tales from
Earthsea. Cover of The Earthsea Trilogy, a
boxed paperback set of the first
Illustrators have included Pauline Ellison, Ruth Robbins, Anne
three Earthsea novels (1975,
Yvonne Gilbert, Gail Garraty, Margaret Chodos-Irvine, Kelly
illustrator Pauline Ellison)
Nelson, Marion Wood Kolisch, Ursula K. Le Guin, Charles Vess
and Cliff Nielsen.
A Wizard of Earthsea
In 2018, all the novels and short stories were published as The The Tombs of Atuan
Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition. The Farthest Shore
Tehanu
Tales from Earthsea
Contents The Other Wind

Setting
Author Ursula K. Le Guin
Series
Novels Illustrator Pauline Ellison
Short stories Ruth Robbins
Unsubmitted story Anne Yvonne Gilbert
Gail Garraty
Awards Margaret Chodos-
Adaptations Irvine
Audiobooks Kelly Nelson
Radio Marion Wood Kolisch
Television Charles Vess
Animated film Ursula K. Le Guin
Proposed live-action film Cliff Nielsen

Notes Country United States

References Genre Fantasy, young adult

fiction
External links
Publisher Parnassus Press,
Atheneum Books,
Setting Harcourt Brace &
Company (US)
The world of Earthsea is one of sea and islands: a vast Published 1964–2018 (novels,
archipelago of hundreds of islands surrounded by mostly 1968–2001)
uncharted ocean. Earthsea contains no large continents, with the Media type Print (hardcover and
archipelago resembling Indonesia or the Philippines. The largest paperback), audiobook
island, Havnor, at approximately 380 miles (610 km) across, is
about the size of Great Britain. The cultures of Earthsea are not direct analogues of those of our world,
but are literate non-industrial civilizations. Technologically, Earthsea is an early Iron Age society, with
bronze used in places where iron is scarce. Weapons also include the use of wood and other hard but
easily crafted metals. The overall climate of Earthsea is temperate, comparable to the mid-latitudes (over
a distance of about 1,800 miles or 2,900 kilometres) of the Northern hemisphere. There is a yearly
transition from warm summers to cold and snowy winters, especially in northern islands like Gont and
Osskil. In the southern regions of Earthsea it can be much warmer.

Most of the people of Earthsea are described as having brown skin.[1] In the Archipelago "red-brown"
skin is typical, while the people of the East Reach have darker "black-brown" complexions.[2] The people
of Osskil in the north are described as having lighter, sallow complexions,[3] while the Kargs of the
Kargad Lands are "white-skinned" and often "yellow-haired".[4] Le Guin has criticized what she
describes as the general assumption in fantasy that characters should be white and the society should
resemble the Middle Ages.[5]

Magic is a central part of life in most of Earthsea, with the exception of the Kargish lands, where it is
banned. There are weather workers on ships, fixers who repair boats and buildings, entertainers, and
court sorcerers. Magic is an inborn talent which can be developed with training. The most gifted are sent
to the school on Roke, where, if their skill and their discipline prove sufficient, they can become staff-
carrying wizards. A strong theme of the stories is the connection between power and responsibility. There
is often a Taoist message: "good" wizardry tries to be in harmony with the world, while "bad" wizardry,
such as necromancy, can lead to an upsetting of the "balance" and threaten catastrophe. While the
dragons are more powerful, they act instinctively to preserve the balance. Only humans pose a threat to
it.

The Dry Land is where the people of the archipelago and reaches of Earthsea go when they die. It is a
realm of shadow and dust, of eternal night where the stars are fixed in the sky, and nothing changes. The
souls who live there have an empty, dreary existence, and even "lovers pass each other in silence". Le
Guin has stated that the idea of the Dry Land came from the "Greco-Roman idea of Hades' realm, from
certain images in Dante Alighieri's work, and from one of Rainer Maria Rilke's Elegies."[6]

Series

Novels
A Wizard of Earthsea (Parnassus Press, 1968) (Illustrated by Ruth Robbins, and Anne
Yvonne Gilbert in 1984)
The Tombs of Atuan (Atheneum Books, 1971)[a] (Illustrated by Gail Garraty and Anne
Yvonne Gilbert in 1984)
The Farthest Shore (Atheneum Books, 1972) (Illustrated by Gail Garraty and Anne Yvonne
Gilbert in 1984)
Tehanu (Atheneum Books, 1990) (Illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine)
 The Other Wind (Harcourt, 2001) (Illustrated by Cliff Nielsen and Ursula K. Le Guin)

Short stories
Le Guin published nine short stories of Earthsea. Seven appear in two collections of her work (and some
have been reissued elsewhere). Two early stories were originally published in 1964, and were collected in
The Wind's Twelve Quarters (Harper & Row, 1975). These helped to define the setting of Earthsea. Five
much later stories were collected in Tales from Earthsea (Harcourt, 2001; illustrated by Kelly Nelson,
Marion Wood Kolisch and Ursula K. Le Guin), where three were original.[8] In October 2014 a new
novella set in Earthsea was published as a stand-alone, "The Daughter of Odren".[9][10] A final 12-page
short story, "Firelight", was published in June 2018, covering the last days of Ged.[11]

Tales from Earthsea also includes about 30 pages of fictional reference material titled "A Description of
Earthsea" (2001) and cataloged as short fiction by ISFDB.[8]

"The Word of Unbinding", Fantastic Stories of Imagination, January 1964 +Q

"The Rule of Names", Fantastic Stories of Imagination, April 1964 +Q
"Dragonfly", Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy, Tor Books, 1998 +T
"Darkrose and Diamond", The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Oct-Nov 1999 +T
"The Bones of the Earth" (2001) T
"The Finder" (2001) T
"On The High Marsh" (2001) T
"The Daughter of Odren" (2014) [9]
"Firelight", Paris Review, Summer 2018, issue 225[12]

Notes:
+Q Collected in The Wind's Twelve Quarters
+T Collected in Tales from Earthsea
T Original to Tales from Earthsea
All of the stories are included in The Books of Earthsea.

Unsubmitted story
After "The Rule of Names" and before "A Wizard of Earthsea", Le Guin wrote a longish story about a
prince in search of the Ultimate. He travels southwest from Havnor through the archipelago into the open
sea. He finds a raft-colony and sea-people. The prince joins them in the sea. He wears out, sinks and
finds the Ultimate. This story was never submitted for publication for 'it never worked out itself well'.[13]

Awards
Each novel in the series has received a literary award, including

A Wizard of Earthsea:

the 1969 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction[14]

the 1979 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award[15]
The Tombs of Atuan: a 1972 Newbery Honor
The Farthest Shore: the 1973 National Book Award for Children's Books
 Tehanu: the 1990 Nebula Award for Best Novel
The Other Wind: the 2002 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
On November 5, 2019, the BBC News listed The Earthsea Trilogy on its list of the 100 most influential
novels.[16]

Adaptations

Audiobooks
There have been a number of audiobook readings by different narrators and publishers.[7] In the early
1990s, Robert Inglis narrated the first three books of the series for Recorded Books.[17]

Radio
A BBC-produced two-hour radio dramatization of A Wizard of Earthsea was originally broadcast on
Radio 4 on December 26, 1996. This adaptation was narrated by Dame Judi Dench, with Michael
Maloney as Ged, and used a wide range of actors with different regional and social accents to emphasize
the origins of the Earthsea characters (for instance, Estarriol and others from the East Reach were played
by actors with Southern Welsh accents).[18] The adaptation was subsequently released on audio cassette.

In April and May 2015, BBC Radio 4 aired a new, six-part dramatization of the Earthsea works,
encompassing the storylines and motifs of the novels A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan and The
Farthest Shore.[19] The first of the six 30 minute-long episodes premiered on April 27 and the last on
May 5. The characters of Ged and Tenar were portrayed by three actors at different stages in their lives
(Kasper Hilton-Hille, James McArdle and Shaun Dooley as Ged; Nishi Malde, Aysha Kala and Vineeta
Rishi as Tenar). The radio drama was adapted by Judith Adams, directed by Sasha Yevtushenko and
featured original music composed by Jon Nicholls. Following the premiere radio broadcast, each of the
episodes were made available for online streaming on BBC Radio 4 Extra for a month, via the BBC
iPlayer service.[20] The adaptation was created and aired as part of a thematic month centered on the life
and works of Ursula Le Guin, in commemoration of her then-recent 85th birthday.[21] In addition to the
Earthsea radio drama, the thematic month included the airing of a two-part radio adaptation of The Left
Hand of Darkness earlier in April, as well as exclusive interviews with Le Guin and some of the writers
she inspired.[22][23][24]

Television
The U.S.-based Sci Fi Channel broadcast in December 2004 a three-hour loose adaptation for television
of A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, entitled Legend of Earthsea (later, simply Earthsea). It
was broadcast in two parts on Channel 4 in the UK at Easter 2005. Sci Fi Channel had angered Le
Guin[25] and fans of the Earthsea novels with its announcement that Ged and the vast majority of the
other characters would be played by Caucasians and with the dramatis personæ posted on an official
website. The latter revealed several original characters – such as "The Archmagus" and "King Tygath",
"Diana", "Penelope", and "Marion" – and it referred to "Kargide" characters rather than Kargad, Karg, or
Kargish. The religious practices of Atuan were portrayed differently in the adaptation, and the celibacy of
Earthsea wizards overlooked as Ged and Tenar become sexually involved.
One month before the U.S. broadcast, Le Guin posted on her website "A Reply to Some Statements
Made by the Film-Makers" published in the December 2004 issue of Sci Fi Magazine. She opened with
the observation, "I've tried very hard to keep from saying anything at all about this production, being well
aware that movies must differ in many ways from the books they're based on, and feeling that I really had
no business talking about it, since I was not included in planning it and was given no part in discussions
or decisions." (Director Robert Lieberman, too, had stated that she was not involved.)[26]

"That makes it particularly galling of the director to put words in my mouth."[26] Le Guin disavowed
some specific interpretations both by Lieberman and by executive director Robert Halmi Sr., and
concluded (quoting Lieberman):

I wonder if the people who made the film of The Lord of the Rings had ended it with Frodo
putting on the Ring and ruling happily ever after, and then claimed that that was what
Tolkien "intended ..."[,] would people think they'd been "very, very honest to the books"?[26]

Animated film
Studio Ghibli's 2006 film, Tales from Earthsea, is loosely based in the
Earthsea mythology. It was directed by Gorō Miyazaki, the son of Hayao
Miyazaki. In the past, Le Guin had rejected Hayao Miyazaki's offer to create
a film based on the series, but due to her love of his films, Le Guin granted
Studio Ghibli the rights.[27] The story is based mainly on elements of the
third and fourth novels of Earthsea. Le Guin has stated that she found the
adaptation "disappointing" and "entirely different" from her creation.[27]

Proposed live-action film

In May 2018, it was announced that the series had been opted for a film
Tales from Earthsea
adaptation by producer Jennifer Fox.[28]
Poster

Notes
a. The Tombs of Atuan appeared in magazine form in 1970 before its book publication, in
Worlds of Fantasy Issue 3 with illustrations by Jack Gaughan. The issue was released in
December 1970 and is dated variously 1970–71, Winter 1970–71, and Winter 1970. The
cover illustration by Gaughan features The Tombs of Atuan, which the cover promotes as
"Complete new novel by this year's Hugo winner!". ("Publication Listing: Worlds of Fantasy,
Winter 1970" (http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?151901). ISFDB. Retrieved 2015-08-13.)
Le Guin lists "Atheneum 1970" on her website.[7]

References
1. "Chronicles of Earthsea" (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/feb/09/sciencefictionfan
tasyandhorror.ursulakleguin). The Guardian. 9 February 2004. Retrieved 12 September
2016.
 2. Quoting A Wizard of Earthsea: "He had the accent of the East Reach, and was very dark of
skin, not red-brown like Ged and Jasper and most folk of the Archipelago, but black-brown."
3. Quoting A Wizard of Earthsea: "She was a tall girl of about his own age, very sallow, almost
white-skinned; her mother, they said in the village, was from Osskil or some such foreign
land. Her hair fell long and straight like a fall of black water."
4. Quoting A Wizard of Earthsea: "...they are a savage people, white-skinned, yellow-haired,
and fierce, liking the sight of blood and the smell of burning towns."
5. "Ursula K. Le Guin's BookExpo America Speech: Some Assumptions About Fantasy" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20070817004932/http://www.harcourtbooks.com/AuthorInterviews/
LeGuinBEASpech.asp) [2004]. Harcourt Books (hartcourtbooks.com). Archived from the
original on 2007-08-17.
6. "Chronicles of Earthsea" (http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/sciencefiction/story/0,60
00,1144428,00.html). Edited transcript of online Q&A. Arts: Books. theguardian
(guardian.co.uk). February 9, 2004. Retrieved 2011-09.
7. "Ursula K. Le Guin: Short Bibliography" (http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Biblio-Short.html).
Ursula K. Le Guin. May 2010. Retrieved 2014-08-13. "(Major works only, principal U.S.
editions only)".
8. "Earthsea Cycle – Series Bibliography" (http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?4220). Internet
Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2012-04-09 – via isfdb.org. Select a title to see its
linked publication history and general information. Select a particular edition (title) for more
data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
9. "The Daughter of Odren" (http://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/The-Daughter-of-Odren/9780
544358386). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Retrieved 2015-08-12 – via hmco.com. "42
pages"
10. "The Daughter of Odren (Kindle Single)" (https://www.amazon.com/The-Daughter-Odren-Ki
ndle-Single-ebook/dp/B00O70WOD0). Amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-08-13. Quote: "Master
storyteller Ursula LeGuin takes readers back to Earthsea"; 31 pages; age level 12 and up.
11. "The Books of Earthsea" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180514010101/https://www.orionb
ooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn%3D9781473223554). Orion Books. Archived from the
original (https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781473223554) on May 14,
2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
12. "50th anniversary of the timeless and beloved A Wizard of Earthsea" (https://www.hachette.
com.au/ursula-k-le-guin/the-books-of-earthsea). Hachette Australia. Retrieved May 14,
2018.
13. Dreams Must Explain Themselves by Ursula Le Guin in Algol 21, Tenth Anniversary Issue,
(november 1973; p. 8)
14. "Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards – List of past winners" (https://web.archive.org/web/2011
1019092012/http://archive.hbook.com/bghb/past/past.asp). Archived from the original (htt
p://archive.hbook.com/bghb/past/past.asp) on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 10 November
2014.
15. Bernardo, Susan M.; Murphy, Graham J. (2006). Ursula K. Le Guin: A Critical Companion
(1st ed.). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 5. ISBN 0-313-33225-8.
16. "100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts" (https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainme
nt-arts-50302788). BBC News. 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2019-11-10. "The reveal kickstarts
the BBC's year-long celebration of literature."
17. "Earthsea Cycle" (https://www.recordedbooks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=rb.search_books&
show_by=series&series_id=8). Recorded Books (recordedbooks.com). Retrieved
2014-08-13. "Displaying 1-4 of 4 books in Earthsea Cycle". No dates.
18. "BBC Radio 7 – A Wizard of Earthsea" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pfpcm).
BBC iPlayer Radio. BBC (bbc.co.uk). Retrieved 2011-07-10. Broadcast January 5, 2011, on
BBC Radio 7.
19. Adams, Judith (April 14, 2015). "Adapting Ursula Le Guin's 'Earthsea' and 'The Left Hand of
Darkness' for Radio" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/a8a7b23c-a12e-463c
-be7e-a741fc9967d0). BBC Blogs – BBC Writersroom. BBC. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
20. "Episodes" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pktp7/episodes/guide). BBC Radio 4
Extra: Earthsea. BBC. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
21. "Ursula K. Le Guin on BBC Radio 4 and 4 Extra" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02np
j4b). BBC Radio 4. BBC. April 8, 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-15. "A preview of our Le Guin
celebration."
22. "The Left Hand of Darkness [Episode 1 of 2]" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pkpg
g). BBC Radio 4: The Left Hand of Darkness. BBC. Retrieved 2015-05-15. Broadcast April
18, 2015; episode 2 broadcast April 25.
23. "Ursula Le Guin at 85" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pkmyg). BBC Radio 4. BBC.
Retrieved 2015-05-15. Audio interview broadcast April 9, 2015.
24. "The Le Guin Effect: 7 Bestselling Authors Influenced by Ursula Le Guin" (https://www.bbc.c
o.uk/programmes/articles/NvYCd6pbQ0wCvvY1PFZdtX/7-bestselling-authors-influenced-by
-ursula-le-guin). BBC Radio 4: The Left Hand of Darkness. BBC. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
25. Le Guin (December 16, 2004). "A Whitewashed Earthsea: How the Sci Fi Channel wrecked
my books" (http://www.slate.com/id/2111107). Slate. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
26. Le Guin (November 13, 2004). "Earthsea Miniseries: A Reply to Some Statements Made by
the Film-Makers of the Earthsea Miniseries Before it was Shown" (http://www.ursulakleguin.
com/Earthsea.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20041127070008/http://www.urs
ulakleguin.com/Earthsea.html) 2004-11-27 at the Wayback Machine. Ursula K. Le Guin.
Retrieved 2015-08-13. "Updated Sunday July 13, 2008".
One of several Earthsea Miniseries Notes (index by Le Guin (http://www.ursulakleguin.co
m/Index-EarthseaMiniseries.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150907182414/
http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Index-EarthseaMiniseries.html) 2015-09-07 at the Wayback
Machine) – linked notes by Le Guin and by others.
27. Le Guin (2006). "Gedo Senki: A First Response" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110717214
649/http://www.ursulakleguin.com/GedoSenkiResponse.html). Ursula K. Le Guin. Archived
from the original (http://www.ursulakleguin.com/GedoSenkiResponse.html) on 2011-07-17.
Retrieved 2011-09-04. With linked "Response from a correspondent in Japan".
Complete subtitles: A First Response to "Gedo Senki", the Earthsea film made by Goro
Miyazaki for Studio Ghibli. Written for my fans in Japan who are writing me about the movie,
and for fans elsewhere who may be curious about it.
28. N'Duka, Amanda (May 24, 2018). "Oscar Nominated Producer Jennifer Fox Nabs Film
Rights To 'Earthsea' Book Series" (https://deadline.com/2018/05/jennifer-fox-film-earthsea-n
ovel-1202397673/). Deadline. Retrieved June 6, 2018.

Citations

Attebery, Brian (1980). The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin
(https://archive.org/details/fantasytradition00atte) (1st ed.). Bloomington, IN: University of
Indiana Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35665-9.
Bernardo, Susan M.; Murphy, Graham J. (2006). Ursula K. Le Guin: A Critical Companion
(1st ed.). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-33225-8.
Cadden, Mike (2005). Ursula K. Le Guin Beyond Genre: Fiction for Children and Adults (1st
ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-97218-5.
Le Guin, Ursula (1968). A Wizard of Earthsea (1st ed.). Berkeley, CA: Parnassus Press.
ISBN 978-0-395-27653-2.
Le Guin, Ursula (1971). The Tombs of Atuan (1st ed.). New York, NY: Atheneum Books.
ISBN 978-0-689-20680-1.
 Le Guin, Ursula (1972). The Farthest Shore (1st ed.). New York, NY: Atheneum Books.
ISBN 978-0-689-30054-7.
Le Guin, Ursula (1975). The Wind's Twelve Quarters (1st ed.). New York, NY: Harper and
Row. ISBN 978-0-06-012562-2.
Le Guin, Ursula (1990). Tehanu (1st ed.). New York, NY: Atheneum Books. ISBN 978-0-
689-31595-4.
Le Guin, Ursula (1993). Earthsea Revisioned. Green Bay Publications. ISBN 978-0-948845-
03-1. OCLC 29598010 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29598010).
Le Guin, Ursula (2001). Tales from Earthsea (1st ed.). New York, NY: Harcourt Brace &
Company. ISBN 978-0-15-100561-1.
Le Guin, Ursula (2001). The Other Wind (1st ed.). New York, NY: Harcourt Brace &
Company. ISBN 978-0-15-100684-7.
Martin, Philip (2009). A Guide to Fantasy Literature: Thoughts on Stories of Wonder &
Enchantment (https://archive.org/details/guidetofantasyli0000mart) (1st ed.). Milwaukee, WI:
Crickhollow Books. ISBN 978-1-933987-04-0.
Petty, Anne C. (2004). Dragons of Fantasy: The Scaly Villains & Heroes of Tolkien, Rowling,
McCaffrey, Pratchett & Other Fantasy Greats (1st ed.). Cold Spring Harbor, New York: Cold
Spring Press. ISBN 978-1-59360-010-5.

External links
Le Guin's homepage (http://www.ursulakleguin.com/) – her own map of Earthsea, truncated
Earthsea (http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?4220) series listing at the Internet Speculative
Fiction Database
The World of Earthsea (http://scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/earthsea/earthsea.html) – with Le Guin's
own map and published illustrations including maps
"Ursula Le Guin's Magical World of Earthsea" (http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/sprin
g96/griffin.html) by Jan M. Griffin, The ALAN Review 23.2 (Spring 1996)
The Isolate Tower: An Earthsea Compendium (http://www.tavia.co.uk/earthsea/) – fan
encyclopedia or companion book
"To Light A Candle: An Unofficial Earthsea Companion" (https://web.archive.org/web/20140
823041026/http://www.zenentrepreneur.com/writings.htm#fantasy) – fan encyclopedia or
companion book

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earthsea&oldid=943903606"

This page was last edited on 4 March 2020, at 14:38 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using
this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.