C. L. Moore
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2013) |
C. L. Moore | |
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Hollywood, California , US | |
Pen name |
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Occupation | Writer |
Nationality | American |
Period | 1933–1963 |
Genre | fantasy |
Spouse |
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Catherine Lucille Moore (January 24, 1911 – April 4, 1987) was an
Moore married her first husband Henry Kuttner in 1940, and most of her work from 1940 to 1958 (Kuttner's death) was written by the couple collaboratively. They were prolific co-authors under their own names, although more often under any one of several pseudonyms.
As "Catherine Kuttner", she had a brief career as a television scriptwriter from 1958 to 1962. She retired from writing in 1963.
Early life
Moore was born on January 24, 1911, in
Early career
The Vagabond, a student-run magazine at
Her early work included two significant series in
The most famous Northwest Smith story is "Shambleau", which was also Moore's first professional sale. It originally appeared in the November 1933 issue of Weird Tales,[3] netting her $100, and later becoming a popular anthology reprint.
Her most famous Jirel story is also the first one, "Black God's Kiss", which was the cover story in the October 1934 issue of Weird Tales, subtitled "the weirdest story ever told" (see figure).[3] Moore's early stories were notable for their emphasis on the senses and emotions, which was unusual in genre fiction at the time.
Moore's work also appeared in
Included in that collection were "Judgment Night" (first published in August and September 1943), the lush rendering of a future
Marriage to Henry Kuttner and literary collaborations
Moore met Henry Kuttner, also a science fiction writer, in 1936 when he wrote her a fan letter under the impression that "C. L. Moore" was a man. They soon collaborated on a story that combined Moore's signature characters, Northwest Smith and Jirel of Joiry: "Quest of the Starstone" (1937).
Moore and Kuttner married in 1940 and thereafter wrote many of their stories in collaboration, sometimes under their own names, but more often using the joint pseudonyms C. H. Liddell, Lawrence O'Donnell, or Lewis Padgett — most commonly the latter, a combination of their mothers' maiden names. Moore still occasionally wrote solo work during this period, including the frequently anthologized "No Woman Born" (1944). A selection of Moore's solo short fiction work from 1942 through 1950 was collected in 1952's Judgement Night. Moore's only solo novel, Doomsday Morning, appeared in 1957.
The vast majority of Moore's work in the period, though, was written as part of a very prolific partnership. Working together, the couple managed to combine Moore's style with Kuttner's more cerebral storytelling. They continued to work in science fiction and fantasy, and their works include two frequently anthologized sci-fi classics: "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" (February 1943), the basis for the film The Last Mimzy (2007), and Vintage Season (September 1946), the basis for the film Timescape (1992). As "Lewis Padgett" they also penned two mystery novels: The Brass Ring (1946) and The Day He Died (1947).
Later career
After Kuttner's death in 1958, Moore continued teaching her writing course at the University of Southern California, but permanently retired from writing any further literary fiction. Instead, working as "Catherine Kuttner", she carved out a short-lived career as a scriptwriter for Warner Bros. television, writing episodes of the westerns Sugarfoot, Maverick, and The Alaskans, as well as the detective series 77 Sunset Strip, all between 1958 and 1962. However, upon marrying Thomas Reggie (who was not a writer) in 1963, she ceased writing entirely.
Moore was the author guest of honor at Kansas City, Missouri's fantasy and science fiction convention BYOB-Con 6, held over the U.S. Memorial Day weekend in May 1976. She was a pro guest of honor at Denvention II (the 39th World Science Fiction Convention) in 1981.
In a 1979 interview, she said that she and a writer friend were collaborating on a fantasy story, and how it could possibly form the basis of a new series. But nothing was ever published.[7]
In 1981, Moore received two annual awards for her career in fantasy literature: the
Moore was an active member of the Tom and Terri Pinckard Science Fiction literary salon and a frequent contributor to literary discussions with the regular membership, including Robert Bloch, George Clayton Johnson, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Norman Spinrad, A. E. van Vogt, and others, as well as many visiting writers and speakers.
Later life
Moore developed
Awards
- 1978: Fritz Leiber Award
- 1981: Gandalf Grand Master Award, World Fantasy Convention Lifetime Achievement Award[11]
- 1998: Posthumous induction into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame[12]
- 2004: Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award[13]
- 2019: Retro Hugo Award for best Novelette for the year 1944[14]
Selected works
- Earth's Last Citadel (with Henry Kuttner; 1943)
- The Dark World (credited to Henry Kuttner, but believed by many critics to be a collaboration, 1946)[15]
- Vintage Season (novella written with Henry Kuttner, as "Lawrence O'Donnell"; 1946). It was filmed in 1992 as Timescape.[16]
- The Mask of Circe (with Henry Kuttner; 1948, Illustrated by Alicia Austin; 1971)
- Beyond Earth's Gates (1949)
- Judgment Night (stories, 1952)
- Shambleau and Others (stories, 1953)
- Northwest of Earth (stories, 1954)
- No Boundaries (with Henry Kuttner; stories, 1955)
- Doomsday Morning (1957)
- Jirel of Joiry (Paperback Library, 1969); Black God's Shadow (Donald M. Grant, 1977)—the five Jirel stories collected; the latter a limited edition with color plates, signed, numbered, and boxed
- Lester Del Rey, which is carefully noncommittal about the influence of her personal life on her writing, and an autobiographical afterword by Moore
- ISBN 978-1-60125-045-2)—the five Jirelstories collected
- ISBN 978-1-60125-081-0)—the thirteen Northwest Smithstories collected
Explanatory notes
- ^ In 1951 Gnome had published Tomorrow and Tomorrow and the Fairy Chessmen, the omnibus edition of two short novels by Moore & Kuttner as Lewis Padgett, which had been two-part serials in Astounding during 1947 and 1946. Judgment Night comprised five stories by Moore alone—none from the Northwest Smith and Jirel series, which Gnome collected in part one year later.[3]
References
- ^ "The Many Names of Catherine Lucille Moore". Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ "C.L. Moore Talks to Chacal: A Conversation With the First Lady of Fantasy". Chacal (Magazine). No. 1. Interviewed by Byron Roark. Nemedian Chronicles. 1976. pp. 25–31. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
- ^ a b c d e C. L. Moore at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- ^ Forrest J. Ackerman, Ackermanthology: 65 Astoníshing, Rediscovered SF Shorts. LA: General Publishing Co, 1997, pp. 255-270.
- ^ Moore, C.L. (1952). Judgment Night. Gnome Press.
- ^ No Woman Born title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved 2012-04-20.
- ISBN 9780893702571.
- ^
"Moore, C. L." Archived 2012-10-16 at the Locus Publications. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ^ Nicoll, James Davis (2018-08-13). "A Survey of Some of the Best Science Fiction Ever Published (Thanks to Judy-Lynn Del Rey)". Tor.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
- ^ "The Many Names of Catherine Lucille Moore | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
- ^ "World Fantasy Convention List of Award Winners".
- ^ "Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame" Archived May 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Mid American Science Fiction and Fantasy Conventions, Inc. Retrieved 2013-03-26. This was the official website of the hall of fame to 2004.
- ^ "Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore: Winners of the 2004 Cordwainer Smith Foundation 'Rediscovery' Award".
- ^ "1944 Retro-Hugo Awards Announced". 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Moore, C. L.". The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
- ^ "Grand Tour: Disaster in Time" – via www.imdb.com.
Further reading
- Bleiler, Everett F. "Fantasy, Horror...and Sex: The Early Stories of C. L. Moore". The Scream Factory (Spring 1994): 41–47.
External links
- Works by C. L. Moore at Project Gutenberg
- C. L. Moore at IMDb
- Works by or about C. L. Moore at Internet Archive
- Works by C. L. Moore at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- "C. L. Moore biography". Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
- Moore and Lewis Padgett at Fantastic Fiction
- C. L. Moore at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- C. L. Moore at IMDb
- Rosemarie Arbur: Literary Descendants of C. L. Moore
- Past Masters - A Kuttner Above the Rest (But Wait! There's Moore!) by Bud Webster, at Galactic Central
- Shambleau read by the author, C. L. Moore
- C. L. Moore at Library of Congress, with 12 library catalog records
- Lewis Padgett at LC Authorities, with eight records, and at WorldCat