Q&A: What’s a good accessible introduction to the fantasy literature genre?

Question by lacrosseref: What’s a good accessible introduction to the fantasy literature genre?
I am looking for a good introduction to high fantasy lit for my wife. She’s seen the Lord of the Rings movies, but the plot was a bit more than she was really ready to handle. I want to get her into the fantasy genre (elves and dwarves, magic and knights, all the usual), and I think the scope of the LOTR series and the pile of unusual names and locations make it difficult for her. She’s not dumb; she’s just never really been exposed to this sort of thing. I’m looking for something she can ease into it with. A few characters, not terribly long, maybe a series of shorter books. Enough to cover the basics of the genre. Sort of fantasy-with-training-wheels. Authors and/or titles, please.

Best answer:

Answer by mistress m
why don’t you start with short sci fi stories and then let her work up to novels. The fantasies that I am familiar with are long and quite involved

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