Realms of Fantasy: A Profile of Joseph Nigg and How to Raise and Keep a Dragon

The latest Realms of Fantasy, on newsstands now, contains my first feature article for the magazine: "How to Raise and Keep an Imagination--Joseph Nigg and the Power of Fantasy". I've been a friend of Joe's for years, ever since he contributed to Leviathan 1. Known as one of the foremost experts on fantastical animals, he's had books out from a number of prestigious presses, including Oxford University Press. But in the last couple of years, his fame has shot through the roof as the author of How to Raise and Keep a Dragon--as evidenced by the rolicking, lively discussion in the comments thread of this Amazon post I did about the book.Below the cut find an excerpt from my Realms article, to give you a taste. The complete piece is about 3,000 words and the issue also features Paul Witcover's excellent book review column and a lot of other cool things. (Ann and I have also turned in a short article, with copious photos, on the magical qualities of Prague, to appear in a spring 2009 issue.)Once upon a time, in a world in which Harry Potter and the Spiderwick Chronicles had primed children’s imaginations to expect the extraordinary, a rather remarkable book called How to Raise and Keep a Dragon appeared in bookstores. This lavishly illustrated tome—supposedly written by a descendent of the 17th-century British naturalist Edward Topsell, author of the Historie of Serpents (1608)—presented an array of fantastical serpents, including such delightful eccentricities as the Joppa Dragon, with its walrus-like nose and “blazing eyes.” Each entry came complete with a map locator for each species, skin swatch, egg description, and height/size details. Topsell also claimed to provide all of the information needed to acquire and take care of a dragon, up to and including the addresses of supposed dragon sellers. The would-be dragon owner could also learn more prosaic details, such as housing basics, training tips, and showing dragons in competition. Practical advice included such wisdom as: “the larger the dragon, the more expensive it will be” to “Be honest [about wanting a dragon] because if you’re not, you—and your dragon—might be in for much grief.” As might be expected, then, this rare and fanciful book became an international bestseller—although not without certain consequences for the true author.Perhaps some collisions between fantasy and reality are inevitable. Noted author Joseph Nigg, who wrote How to Raise and Keep a Dragon under the fanciful pseudonym “John Topsell,” found that out in 2006, soon after publication.Nigg began to get fan mail from kids who wanted their own “Standard Western Dragon” or “Multi-headed Dragon.” Typical questions were a testament to the effortless level of detail Nigg had brought to his creation. “How big should a miniature dragon’s room be, at the smallest?” one child asked. Another wanted more information on common dragon diseases: “I saw the thing about mouth-rot but how do you see it and [cure] it?”One of the world’s foremost experts on imaginary beasts, Nigg was no stranger to the spotlight—he had been the subject of frequent interviews, been reviewed in USA Today, and appeared on the “Dragons” episode of A&E’s “Ancient Mysteries” TV series. Nigg’s 1999 Oxford University Press anthology, The Book of Fabulous Beasts: A Treasury of Writings from Ancient Times to the Present, which traces the literary evolution of a host of mythical beasts, from the Babylonians to Tolkien, had established him as perhaps the Joseph Campbell of his field. Respected mythologists like David Leeming had called The Book of Fabulous Beasts “the definitive work.”However, none of this prior experience prepared Nigg for the tidal wave of reaction to How to Raise and Keep a Dragon—in part because, as he noted in an Edmonton Journal interview, "I wrote it as an adult book, as a parody of animal-raising books. I figured book stores would put it next to the books on how to train dogs."