Margaret St. Clair

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Margaret St Clair

Margaret St. Clair (born Eva Margaret Neeley on February 17, 1911 in Hutchinson , Kansas ; died on November 22, 1995 in Santa Rosa , California ) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She is best known for her short stories, several of which she wrote under the pseudonym Idris Seabright .

Life

She was the daughter of lawyer and Congressman George Arthur Neeley and teacher Elvira ("Eva") Margaret Neeley, née Hostetler. Her maternal aunt was married to Walter R. Stubbs , a politician and governor of Kansas. Her father died in January 1919 when Margaret was seven years old. From 1928 she lived with her mother in Santa Ana , California, where she attended Santa Ana Junior College and graduated there in 1930.

She studied Classical Philology at the University of California at Berkeley , where she graduated with a Masters in 1933 and became a member of Phi Beta Kappa . In 1932 she married the writer and children's book author Eric St. Clair, whom she had met in Berkeley. From 1938 to 1941 she was a gardener, planted rare pear varieties in El Sobrante ( St. Clair Rare Bulb Gardens ) and raised dachshunds . Since 1945 she has been a full-time writer.

Her first published short stories were detective stories, according to The Perfectionist , which appeared in Mystery Book Magazine in May 1946 . Her first science fiction story was Rocket to Limbo , published in November 1946 in Raymond Palmer's Fantastic Adventures . From 1946 to 1981 she wrote over 100 SF and fantasy stories, some of which were also translated into German. In addition to these short stories, she also wrote eight novels, the first of which, Agent of the Unknown , appeared in 1956. Both St. Clair and her critics saw her strength in the short story. St. Clair justified this with the fact that the short story was "more philosophical". One has seen in St. Clair's Science Fiction an example that at a time when SF was heavily involved with technological topics and readers and authors were predominantly men, it was quite possible as a female author with strong protagonists to take up completely different topics .

The couple traveled, including to China, and were in contact with the neo-pagan Wicca movement of Gerald Gardner at a very early age , even before Raymond and Rosemary Buckland spread it in the United States. Chas S. Clifton and Terence E. Hanley attribute this to the fact that, on the one hand, St. Clair had a corresponding background through her classical education and her knowledge of ancient mythology , and probably Robert Graves ' book The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic, published in 1948 Myth , in which Graves developed the concept of an ancient Celtic cult of the goddess, which was then taken up by Gardner and made the basis of his Wicca cult. Gardner's Witchcraft Today was published in 1953. In any case, the 1963 novel Sign of the Labrys already shows clear references to Wicca. The couple's stays in nudist colonies should also be seen in connection with neo-pagan practice .

Margaret St. Clair died in 1995 at the age of 84. Her husband died in 1986. According to the couple's wishes, the marriage had remained childless. St. Clair's estate is in the University of California Library at Riverside .

bibliography

Novels
  • Agent of the Unknown (1956)
    • German: The doll out of nowhere. Pabel (Utopia Zukunftsroman # 290), 1961. Also as: Moewig (Terra Extra # 151), 1967.
  • The Green Queen (1956, expanded version of the novella Mistress of Viridis , 1955)
  • The Games of Neith (1960)
  • Sign of the Labrys (1963)
  • Message from the Eocene (1964)
    • German: Message from the Eocene. Moewig (Terra Astra # 59), 1972.
  • The Dolphins of Altair (1967)
  • The Shadow People (1969)
  • The Dancers of Noyo (1973)
Collections
  • Three Worlds of Futurity (1964)
    • German: The adventure of Venus. Moewig (Terra Astra # 65), 1972.
  • Change the Sky and Other Stories (1974)
  • The Best of Margaret St. Clair (1985)
  • The Hole in the Moon and Other Tales by Margaret St. Clair (2017)
Nuse Man (short story series)
  • The Nuse Man (1960)
  • The Airy Servitor (1960)
Oona and Jick (short story series)
  • The Soma Racks (1947)
  • Super Whost (1947)
  • Aleph Sub One (1948)
  • The Dobridust (1948)
  • The Metal Lark (1948)
  • The Rotohouse (1948)
  • The Himalayan Chalet (1949)
  • The Neo-Geoduck (1949)
Short stories
  • The Perfectionist (1946)
  • Rocket to Limbo (1946)
  • The Stroller (1947)
  • Probate (1947)
  • Whenever the Sun Shines (1947)
  • Piety (1947)
  • Neighbor to a Nightmare (1948, also as Murder on the Five Fifteen , 1951)
  • Quis Custodiet ...? (1948)
  • The Hierophants (1949)
  • Garden of Evil (1949)
  • Dreadful Dreamer (1949)
  • The Sacred Martian Pig (1949, also as Idris' Pig , 1964)
    • English: Mission on Mars. In: The Venus Adventure. 1972.
  • The Counter Charm (1949)
  • Bride of Eternity (1949)
  • The Gardener (1949)
  • Child of Void (1949)
  • Jamieson (1949)
  • The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes (1950)
  • The Listening Child (1950, as Idris Seabright)
  • Hathor's Pets (1950)
  • The Family (1950)
  • World of Arlesia (1950)
  • The Corn Dance (1950)
  • Flowering Evil (1950)
  • The Last Three Ships (1950, also called The Estuary )
  • The Pillows (1950)
  • Mrs. Hawk (1950)
  • Meem (1950)
  • The Invisible Reweaver (1950)
  • The Everlasting Food (1950)
    • German: The adventure of Venus. In: The Venus Adventure. 1972.
  • Professor Kate (1951)
  • Age of Prophecy (1951)
  • Then Fly Our Greetings (1951)
  • Brightness Falls from the Air (1951, also as Idris Seabright)
  • The Replaced (1951)
  • Follow the Weeds (1951)
  • The Little Red Owl (1951)
  • The Inhabited Men (1951)
  • The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles (1951, also as Idris Seabright)
  • The Bird (1951)
  • The Way Back (1951)
  • An Egg a Month from All Over (1952, also as Idris Seabright)
  • The Hole in the Moon (1952, also as Idris Seabright)
  • Return Engagement (1952)
  • The Dancers (1952, as Wilton Hazzard)
  • The Vanderlark (1952)
  • Vulcan's Dolls (1952)
  • The Muralist (1952)
  • The Causes (1952, as Idris Seabright)
  • Island of the Hands (1952)
    • English: The island of hands. In: The Venus Adventure. 1972.
  • Continued Story (1952)
  • Judgment Planet (1953, also as Idris Seabright)
  • New Ritual (1953, as Idris Seabright)
  • The Altruists (1953, also as Idris Seabright)
  • Prott (1953)
    • German: Das Prott. In: Just a Martian Woman and Other Science Fiction Stories. Ullstein (Ullstein Books # 248), 1959.
  • The Unreliable Perfumist (1953)
  • Thirsty God (1953, also as Idris Seabright)
  • The Espadrilles (1953)
  • The Goddess on the Street Corner (1953)
  • The Monitor (1954)
  • Brenda (1954)
  • Finders Keepers (1954)
  • Short in the Chest (1954, also as Idris Seabright)
  • The Rations of Tantalus (1954, also as The Rages , 1964)
    • German: Rage. In: The Venus Adventure. 1972.
  • The Marriage Manual (1954)
  • Asking (1955, also as Idris Seabright)
  • Bannion's Cave (1955)
  • Change the Sky (1955, also as Idris Seabright)
  • Personal Monster (1955, also as Idris Seabright)
  • Crescendo (1955)
  • Mistress of Viridis (1955)
  • Lazarus (1955)
  • Fort Iron (1955)
  • Stawdust (1956, also as Idris Seabright)
  • The Hero Comes (1956, also as Idris Seabright)
  • White Goddess (1956, also as Idris Seabright)
  • The Death Wish (1956)
  • Horror Howce (1956)
    • German: Horrer-Hauß. In: Peter Haining (Ed.): Ungeheuer. Fischer Taschenbuch (Fischer Taschenbücher # 1417), 1973, ISBN 3-436-01806-6 .
  • Consumership (1956)
  • Beaulieu (1957)
  • Eithne (1957, also as Idris Seabright)
  • The Wines of Earth (1957, also as Idris Seabright)
  • Inauguration (1957)
  • Starobin (1957)
  • The Death of Each Day (1958, also as Idris Seabright)
  • Squee (1958)
  • Birthright (1958)
  • To Please the Master (1958)
  • The Invested Libido (1958)
  • Vector (1958)
  • Graveyard Shift (1959, also as Idris Seabright)
  • The Anaheim Disease (1959)
  • Discipline (1959)
  • The Scarlet Hexapod (1959)
  • The Autumn after Next (1960)
  • Parallel Beans (1960)
  • The House in Bel Aire (1961)
  • Lochinvar (1961)
  • An Old-Fashioned Bird Christmas (1961)
  • Roberta (1962)
  • Shore Leave (1974)
  • The Shadow of Horns (1974)
  • Places to Crawl Through (1979)
  • The Sorrows of Witches (1979)
    • English: the tears of a witch. In: Jessica Salmonson (Ed.): Amazons !. Bastei Lübbe (Bastei Lübbe Science Fiction Special # 24023), 1981, ISBN 3-404-24023-5 .
  • Wryneck, Draw Me (1980)
  • The Hashed Brown Buggy (1981)

literature

  • Hans Joachim Alpers , Werner Fuchs , Ronald M. Hahn : Reclam's science fiction guide. Reclam, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-15-010312-6 , p. 393 f.
  • Hans Joachim Alpers, Werner Fuchs, Ronald M. Hahn, Wolfgang Jeschke : Lexicon of Science Fiction Literature. Heyne, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-453-02453-2 , p. 932.
  • Chas S. Clifton: Chasing Margaret . In: Letters From Hardscrabble Creek # 17, June 1997.
  • John Clute : St Clair, Margaret. In: John Clute, Peter Nicholls : The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction . 3rd edition (online edition), version dated August 12, 2018.
  • Terence E. Hanley: Margaret St. Clair. In: Tellers of Weird Tales. 2013, 2017, Part 1 , Part 2 , accessed September 17, 2018.
  • Rosemary Herbert: St. Clair, Margaret . In: Noelle Watson, Paul E. Schellinger: Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers. St. James Press, Chicago 1991, ISBN 1-55862-111-3 , pp. 684 f.
  • Harold Lee Prosser: St. Clair, Margaret . In: James Gunn : The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Viking, New York et al. a. 1988, ISBN 0-670-81041-X , p. 394 f.
  • Robert Reginald : Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. A Checklist, 1700–1974 with Contemporary Science Fiction Authors II. Gale, Detroit 1979, ISBN 0-8103-1051-1 , pp. 1059 f.
  • Robert Reginald: Contemporary Science Fiction Authors. Arno Press, New York 1974, ISBN 0-405-06332-6 , p. 233.
  • Margaret St. Clair: Presenting the Author . In: Fantastic Adventures , November 1946, p. 2.
  • Margaret St. Clair: Wight in Space: An Autobiographical Sketch. In: Martin H. Greenberg (Ed.): Fantastic Lives: Autobiographical Essays by Notable Science Fiction Writers. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, Ill. 1981.
  • Margaret St. Clair: Introduction: Thoughts from My Seventies. In: (same): The Best of Margaret St. Clair. Acedemy Chicago, 1985, ISBN 0-89733-164-8 .
  • Donald H. Tuck : The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy through 1968. Advent, Chicago 1974, ISBN 0-911682-20-1 , p. 376.

Web links

Commons : Margaret St. Clair  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ “I think I am better at short fiction than at novels — the short story is more philosophical.” Quoted from: Noelle Watson, Paul E. Schellinger: Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers. St. James Press, Chicago 1991, p. 684.
  2. ↑ See, for example, Eric Leif Davin: Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926–1965. Lexington Books 2005, ISBN 0-7391-1266-X , passim.
  3. ↑ Margaret St. Clair papers , held in the Library of the University of California at Riverside, accessed September 19, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME St. Clair, Margaret
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Neeley, Eva Margaret (maiden name); Seabright, Idris (pseudonym); Hazzard, Wilton (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Hutchinson , Kansas
DATE OF DEATH November 22, 1995
Place of death Santa Rosa , California