Sam Merwin Jr.
Samuel Kimball Merwin Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | April 28, 1910
Pen name | Elizabeth Deare Bennett, Matt Lee, Jacques Jean Ferrat, Carter Sprague |
Occupation | Writer, editor |
Genre | Science fiction, mystery |
Spouse | Lee Anna Vance |
Relatives | Samuel Merwin Sr. |
Samuel Kimball Merwin Jr. (April 28, 1910 - January 13, 1996) was an American
Biography
He was born on April 28, 1910, in Plainfield, New Jersey, to Samuel Merwin Sr.[1] He received a BA from Princeton in 1931 and studied at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. He began his career in mainstream journalism - as a reporter for the Boston Evening America (1932–1933) then as the New York City Bureau chief for The Philadelphia Inquirer. His career continued as an editor (Dell publishing Co. 1937–1938, Standard Magazines Group 1941–1951, King Size Publications (1952), Renown Publications (1955–1956, 1977–1979) and Brandon House (1966–1967) and as a magazine writer.[2]
In 1934 he married Lee Anna Vance.[3]
Merwin began publishing fiction in 1940 with the mystery novel, Murder in Miniatures, and wrote mysteries, romance (under female pseudonyms), sports fiction, and science fiction. Overall, he produced more mystery writing than science fiction writing and his science fiction is said to show the influence of the mystery genre.
Merwin quit his editing job in 1951 to become a freelance writer, but his mysteries and science fiction books were only moderately successful, either commercially or critically. During the science fiction boom of 1953 he briefly edited Fantastic Universe, and he was an associate editor of Galaxy Science Fiction in 1952-1953.
Three of his detective stories had as an investigator Amy Brewster "a cigar-smoking, 300-pound lawyer-financier...Upper class but unfeminine" who solved mysteries for her friends. This character has been said to be "defined against the genre's stereotypes, particularly the femme fatale: they are not attractive, not home-bound, and not submissive, either conversationally or professionally".[5]
He wrote a few comic book stories for DC's Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space that were published from 1952 to 1953.
He also edited the Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine in 1956, returning to edit it from 1977 to 1979. He wrote many of the Michael Shayne stories that appeared in the magazine
He died on January 13, 1996,
Legacy
Merwin is probably best remembered today for the
Works
The House of Many Worlds
- The House of Many Worlds in Startling Stories, September 1951
- Expanded: The House of Many Worlds, Doubleday, 1951
- Reprint: Galaxy novelNo. 12, 1952
- "Journey to Misenum", Startling Stories, August 1953
- Expanded as: Three Faces of Time, Ace Double D-121, 1955
- Both novels collected as The House of Many Worlds, Ace, 1983
Amy Brewster detective novels
- Knife in My Back, New York, Mystery House, 1945
- Reprint: Kingston, New York, Handi Book, 1945
- Reprint: London, Quality Press Ltd, 1947
- Reprint: New York/Toronto, Harlequin Books, 1950
- Message from a Corpse, 1945
- A Matter of Policy, 1947
Standalone novels
- Murder in Miniatures, Doubleday Doran, "Crime Club", 1940
- Reprint: Crestwood Pub., "A Black Cat Detective Story", 1945
- Reprint: New York/Toronto, Harlequin Books, 1950
- Reprint: Sydney, Original Novels Foundation, "Phantom Books No. 645", 1955, 132p.
- The Creeping Shadow, Connecticut, Fawcett Gold Medal Books (227), 1952
- Killer to Come, Abelard Press, 1953
- Reprint: Galaxy novelsNo. 22, 1954
- Reprint:
- The White Widows, Doubleday, 1953 (expansion of "The White Widows" in Startling Stories, October 1953)
- Slightly edited reprint: The Sex War, Beacon, Galaxy novelNo. 42, 1960
- Slightly edited reprint: The Sex War, Beacon,
- The Passer, New York, Midwood Tower, 1962
- The Time Shifters, New York, Lancer, 1971
- Chauvinisto, Canoga Park, CA, Major Books, 1976, ISBN 0-89041-085-2, 176p.
References
- New York Times. 18 October 1936. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
- ^ Gale H1000068020.
- New York Times. January 10, 1934.
- Gale K2407000399.
- ^ Prof. William Marling Early Female Authors <<www.detnovel.com>> accessed 1 Sep 2012
- F&SF, February 1952, p.106
- Astounding Science Fiction, February 1952, p.157-58
- ^ "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf," Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1952, p.116-117.
External links
- Sam Merwin Jr. at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Works by Sam Merwin Jr. at Project Gutenberg
- Works by Sam Merwin Jr. at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Works by or about Sam Merwin Jr. at Internet Archive