Today, April 7, is the birthday of Henry Kuttner (1915-1958). Kuttner is one of my favorites. I’ve been doing birthday posts on his work for years. As long as this blog is active, I’ll keep doing them.
For today’s post, I want to look briefly at some of his time travel stories. He wrote a number of them, the best in collaboration with his wife C. L. Moore.
I haven’t read all of his time travel, but these three are some of his best and among my favorites of all his work.
First is “When the Bow Breaks”. This story was published in the November 1944 issue of Astounding. It’s about the parents of the first child born who isn’t Homo Sapiens but Homo Superior. Since he turned out so well, he has sent some little men back in time to educate him. If he turned out so great without any special training or education, just imagine how much greater he’ll be if these little guys teach him. He’ll be even better, right? To the great sorrow of the parents, it doesn’t work out so well.
Next is “Mimsy Were the Borogoves”. This is another tragic story involving children and toys from the future. Only this time the kids are normal. At least at first, but they begin to play with the toys…First published in the February 1943 issue of Astounding, this is one of Kuttner’s best known stories. It’s also the first story of his that I ever read.
The third story on this list is “The Twonky”. In this one, a man from the future finds himself in a furniture factory. He has amnesia. All he knows is that he makes Twonkies. So me makes one and regains his memory. The problem is that he leaves the twonky behind, disguised as a stereo. This story was first published in the September 1942 issue of Astounding.
These aren’t all of the time travel stories Kuttner wrote. But these are the three that made the biggest impression on me.
Do you have any that you would suggest?
I haven’t read “When The Bough Breaks” in about thirty years! I think it was in the Boucher two-volume “Treasury Of Great Science Fiction” I got secondhand. Time travel does turn up in the very funny “See You Later,” which was one of the first of their four Hogben stories I ever read and still a favorite! Thanks for the Kuttner post; He (they!) may be my favorite writers! See you later!
You’re welcome. I think you’re thinking about “The Children’s Hour”, Jeff. That was in the Boucher anthology, not “When the Bough Breaks”. both are excellent stories. The Hogben stories are great. I wish there were more of them.
Oh yeah! I think I confused them! I haven’t read “The Children’s Hour” in quite a while either. (Obviously!)
I saw a movie version of The Twonky when I was a teenager. It was an old black and white film and was a comedy. The original story, from what I remember, was actually chilling.
I’m aware of that move but haven’t seen it. The origiinal story is quite chilling. “Mimsy Were the borogoves” was filmaed about 20 years ago as The Last Mimzy. I haven’t seen it, either.
The best thing about “The Twonky” (the movie) is Hans Conreid. The best thing about “The Last Mimsy” is that “The Best of Henry Kuttner” was republished. (As “The Last Mimsy.”) The irony of those original stories with not-Disney-ish endings is that the Kuttners also wrote the story “Happy Ending,” which does NOT have a happy ending! But it’s brilliant, and will probably never be filmed!
I agree, “Happy Ending” is brilliant.