‘Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller’ – Lord Dunsany

Page Count: Four Pages

I found this story in L. Sprague De Camp’s ‘Swords & Sorcery’ collection, which I was lucky enough to pick up for a couple of quid in Halcyon Books. Given what copies of this book go for at the moment (I had a quick look and, damn…), your best chance of reading ‘Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller’ is to either find it in a Lord Dunsany collection or to click Here. Either way, it’s a ten minute read (if that).

I’d never really thought of Lord Dunsany as a writer of ‘Sword & Sorcery’ so seeing this tale nestled cosily in a ‘Sword & Sorcery’ collection piqued my interest right away. And at only four pages long, I couldn’t really say no, not with a couple of longer books on the go as well. So… was ‘Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller’ a ‘Sword & Sorcery’ tale? And just how distressing was it? Let me tell you…

When Thangobrind the jeweller heard the ominous cough, he turned at once upon that narrow way. A thief was he, of very high repute, being patronized by the lofty and elect, for he stole nothing smaller than the Moomoo's egg, and in all his life stole only four kinds of stone — the ruby, the diamond, the emerald, and the sapphire; and, as jewellers go, his honesty was great. Now there was a Merchant Prince who had come to Thangobrind and had offered his daughter's soul for the diamond that is larger than the human head and was to be found on the lap of the spider-idol, Hlo-hlo, in his temple of Moung-ga-ling; for he had heard that Thangobrind was a thief to be trusted.

A cunning thief raiding the temple of the Spider God, for a massive diamond? I needed no more convincing than that, we are definitely looking at ‘Sword & Sorcery’ here, albeit a ‘Sword & Sorcery’ tale that’s more interested in setting the scene than it is telling the actual story. Don’t get me wrong, there is a tale here (and it is told) but ‘Distressing Tale’ is more about the journey that Thangobrind takes while the theft itself is more of an afterthought. It’s not an approach that I’d normally go for but Lord Dunsany paints such a beautiful picture that it’s impossible not to let yourself go along for the ride. The worlds of Faerie are vast and it’s always good to visit new realms.

The plot itself is pretty straightforward, when you get to it, and that just makes it a little more ‘Sword & Sorcery’, at least from where I was sat ;o) No mucking around, just go in and get it done… And then fight the Spider God afterwards. The moments leading up to the confrontation are particularly creepy and the outcome…? I won’t say too much but it’s worth sticking around to see a lesson learned.

A really quick read then but ‘Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller’ has a lot going on and is worth a look. And it’s another reminder that I really need to give ‘The King of Elfland’s Daughter’ another go. One day, I will finish it...