Today is January 20, which means it’s the birthday of Abraham Merritt (1884-1943).
Merrit isn’t as well known as he once was, and certainly not as well as he should be. He was a pioneer in the fantasy genre. He once had a fantasy pulp named after him. He was an influence on a number of writers, including Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, and Edmond Hamilton.
Most of his work was at novel length with only enough short fiction to fill a small collection. Part of the reason he didn’t write more was because he was a magazine editor.
I’ve been slammed today, so I haven’t had a chance to read anything he wrote. But I didn’t want this day to past without a post in his honor.
Merritt went from famous bestseller to underrated unknown. It is a bit weird. He had his faults as a writer (I don’t consider him a great prose stylist) but he is worth reading.
Time was I was more interested in movies than books. I remember in Jnr. High reading a book on old films and seeing a promo still from (I think it was called) “Seven Footprints to Satan.” Creepy cavern, Devil on a throne and seven glowing footprints. Only years later did I hear about A. Merritt. (Seriously, thank you for this feature and the remembrances of writers worth remembering!)
You’re quite welcome. I enjoy discovering obscure writers. So many of them had unique voicdes that shouldn’t be lost or forgotten.