Thefantasy of manners is asubgenre offantasy literature that also partakes of the nature of acomedy of manners (though it is not necessarily humorous). Such works generally take place in an urban setting and within the confines of a fairly elaborate, and almost alwayshierarchical, social structure. The term was first used in print by science fiction criticDonald G. Keller in an article,The Manner of Fantasy, in the April 1991 issue ofThe New York Review of Science Fiction.
Keller used the term to describe a group of American fantasy writers who emerged in the 1980s, includingSteven Brust,Emma Bull,Ellen Kushner,Delia Sherman,Caroline Stevermer, andTerri Windling; Kushner suggested the name.[1] These writers were influenced by television, children's literature, and the works ofJane Austen,Georgette Heyer, andDorothy Dunnett; in fantasy fiction,Fritz Leiber was important, as wereMichael Moorcock andM. John Harrison. Their works included themes of negotiating social structures, disguise, the importance of childhood, the necessity of self-discovery, and the importance of manners and especially of language. This emphasis meant that their characters' speech tended to be more important than their actions, and they used a wide range of diction.[2] After the article was released, fantasy of manners was nicknamed "mannerpunk".[3]
In the words of authorTeresa Edgerton, the term has since taken on a life of its own.[4] It began to mean fantasy literature that owes as much or more to thecomedy of manners as it does to the work ofJ. R. R. Tolkien and other authors ofhigh fantasy. The protagonists are not pitted against fierce monsters or marauding armies, but against their neighbors and peers; the action takes place within a society, rather than being directed against an external foe; duels may be fought, but the chief weapons are wit and intrigue; romance and emotions are central, and the plot may revolve around courtship and marriage. The way the protagonist pushes against their social constraints drives the plot. The setting is a city in another world, usually post-medieval but pre-technological. Stylistically, fantasies of manners tend to be dry and witty.[5][1][6]
While there is occasional overlap withsteampunk orgaslamp fantasy, fantasy of manners is more grounded in reality;magic, fantastic races, andlegendary creatures are downplayed or dismissed entirely, and the technology is typically no more advanced than is expected of the period. Indeed, but for the fact that the settings are usually entirely fictional, some of the books considered "fantasy of manners" could be also consideredhistorical fiction, and some do cross over withhistorical fantasy. The social system, with its conventions and restraints that can be mastered, replaces magic.[6]
Like the authors Keller originally described, contemporary fantasy of manners is influenced by thesocial novels of Jane Austen, thehistorical romances of Georgette Heyer, and Dorothy Dunnett's historical novels.[5][6] Other major influences on the subgenre include thedrawing room comedies ofOscar Wilde andP. G. Wodehouse. Many authors also draw from nineteenth century popular novelists such asAnthony Trollope, theBrontë sisters, andCharles Dickens. Traditional romances ofswashbuckling adventure such asThe Three Musketeers byAlexandre Dumas,The Scarlet Pimpernel byBaroness Orczy, or the works ofRafael Sabatini may also be influences. TheRuritanian romances typified byThe Prisoner of Zenda byAnthony Hope, orGeorge Barr McCutcheon'sGraustark itself, are also of some consequence as literary precedents.
A class of fantasies set in contemporary times and blending the characteristics of fantasies of manners with the subgenreurban fantasy has been given the tongue-in-cheek name "elfpunk".
A Civil Campaign byLois McMaster Bujold has been described as "science fiction of manners".[1]
