Tales of Wonder (magazine)
Editor | Walter Gillings |
---|---|
Publisher | The World's Work |
First issue | June 1937 |
Final issue | 1942 |
Country | UK |
Language | English |
Tales of Wonder was a British science fiction magazine published from 1937 to 1942, with Walter Gillings as editor. It was published by The World's Work, a subsidiary of William Heinemann, as part of a series of genre titles that included Tales of Mystery and Detection and Tales of the Uncanny. Gillings was able to attract some good material, despite the low payment rates he was able to offer; he also included many reprints from U.S. science fiction magazines. The magazine was apparently more successful than the other genre titles issued by The World's Work, since Tales of Wonder was the only one to publish more than a single issue.
Publication history
The first US science fiction (sf) magazine,
Despite this failure, only a year later,
The first issue of Tales of Wonder appeared in June 1937. Sales were good enough for The World's Work to continue publication, and from Spring 1938 the magazine appeared on a quarterly schedule, with occasional omissions. None of the other titles in the Master Thriller series ever turned into a separate magazine, so it was evidently selling well.[1][4] The success of Tales of Wonder led Newnes to believe that they had been wrong to turn down Gillings, and in 1938 they launched Fantasy as a competitor.[1]
The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 did not immediately lead to paper shortages, but paper began to be rationed in April 1940, and the page count, which had already dropped from 128 to 96, fell to 72 by 1941.[4] Gillings was called up for military service, and for a while he was able to edit the magazine from his army camp, but the magazine eventually ceased publication with the Spring 1942 issue.[1]
Contents and reception
American science fiction magazines had by the mid-1930s begun to publish some more sophisticated stories than the straightforward adventure fiction that was a staple of the earliest years of the genre. Gillings decided that many British science fiction readers would not be familiar with most of the developments in American sf, and so he did not make a point of seeking innovative and original material. The first issue contained "The Perfect Creature", an early story by John Wyndham, under the name "John Beynon", as well as "The Prr-r-eet", by Eric Frank Russell. The second issue included Wyndham's novel Sleepers of Mars, and William F. Temple's "Lunar Lilliput", which was Temple's first science fiction sale. "Stenographer's Hands", a story by David H. Keller, also appeared in the second issue, reprinted from a US magazine; Gillings claimed that this was to introduce British science fiction readers to American developments in sf, but in fact it was because he was having trouble obtaining good quality material from British writers.[1][4]
Other reprints acquired by Gillings included
Science fiction historian Mike Ashley regards Tales of Wonder as "a lively, entertaining and enjoyable magazine".[4] Its success demonstrated that there was a market in Britain for a magazine aimed at adult science fiction readers, despite the earlier failure of Scoops,[4] and in 1938 George Newnes, Ltd. went ahead with their much-delayed plans for an sf magazine, Fantasy, having seen the success of Tales of Wonder.[3]
Bibliographic details
Winter | Spring | Summer | Autumn | Winter | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1937 | 1 | ||||
1938 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
1939 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
1940 | 10 | 11 | 12 | ||
1941 | 13 | 14 | 15 | ||
1942 | 16 | ||||
Issues of Tales of Wonder, showing issue number. Walter Gillings was editor throughout.[6] |
Tales of Wonder was published in pulp format for all 16 issues. It began at 128 pages; this was cut to 96 pages with the Winter 1939 issue; then to 80 pages with the Autumn 1940 issue; and finally to 72 pages for the last three issues. It was edited throughout by Walter Gillings, and was priced at 1/-. There was no volume numbering; each issue was numbered consecutively.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e Ashley (2000), pp. 127–131.
- ^ a b c d Harbottle & Holland (1992), p. 15.
- ^ a b Ashley (1985a), pp. 254–256.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ashley (1985b), pp. 652–654.
- ^ "Brisbane, Coutts". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Gollancz. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ^ Tuck (1982), p. 598.
Sources
- Ashley, Mike (1985a). "Fantasy (1938–1939)". In Tymn, Marshall B.; Ashley, Mike (eds.). Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 254–256. ISBN 978-0-313-21221-5.
- Ashley, Mike (1985b). "Tales of Wonder". In Tymn, Marshall B.; Ashley, Mike (eds.). Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 652–654. ISBN 978-0-313-21221-5.
- Ashley, Mike (2000). The Time Machines:The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazines from the beginning to 1950. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-0-85323-865-2.
- Harbottle, Phil; Holland, Stephen (1992). Vultures of the Void: A History of British Science Fiction Publishing, 1946–1956. San Bernardino, California: Borgo Press. ISBN 978-0-89370-415-5.
- Tuck, Donald H. (1982). Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Vol. 3. Chicago: Advent: Publishers. ISBN 978-0-911682-26-7.