The coasts of illusion

A wide-ranging study of travel tales and legendary geography that examines how imagination, rumor, and distance shaped former understandings of the world and its inhabitants. The material is organized by realms—landscapes and inanimate nature, animals and fabulous beasts, sea creatures, and marvelous human communities—so readers encounter islands of enchantment, lost continents, dragons, and prodigious peoples as recurring motifs. The author juxtaposes mythic accounts with maps and travel reports to show how cultural exchange and ignorance produced hybrid geographies. He concludes by considering the social functions of such fables and offers a bibliography to guide further study.