Today, February 17, a tip of the hat to two ladies in honor of their birthdays, Margaret St. Clair and Andre Norton.
Margaret St. Clair
First is Margaret St. Clair (1911-1995). She’s first not because she had the bigger impact on science fiction and fantasy than Andre Norton. She didn’t. She was born first.
She was a prolific short story writer beginning in the mid-forties and throughout the fifties. Her output slowed to a trickle at the end of the fifties. Some of her most critically acclaimed work was published in F&SF under the pen name Idris Seabright.
I’ve read a few of her works and enjoyed them. To sell that consistently, and to top markets, you had to be consistently good. Sadly, she’s out of print. I checked the ISFDB to see if there had been any recent collections. I found a massive collection from 2020 entitled A Compendium of Margaret St. Clai. that seems to be the most complete collection of her work. There was never an electronic eidition, and neither ABE, Ebay, nor Amazon have copies available. If anyone knows where I can score a copy, please let me know.
Andre Norton (1912-2005) needs no introduction. For years her books, both science fiction and fantasy, were staples in middle school libraries. That was where I first encountered her work.
Here two main series were Witch World and Forerunner, but she wrote a number of other series. Her books used to be on bookstore shelves all the time. I don’t remember when the last time I saw one that wasn’t in a second hand shop.
I’d read a few of Norton’s WITCH WORLD tales. Nothing really pushed me to feverishly continue with the series.
Then, a few years ago, I read DAYBREAK – 2250 A.D. (a.k.a. STAR MAN’S SON) That just smacked me right in the GAMMA WORLD nostalgia. Followed up by a lesser known other post-apocalyptic novel, NO NIGHT WITHOUT STARS (which might or not be the same setting.)
I’ve been gobbling up her paperbacks are used book stores since.
Addendum; I didn’t know that in the early 2000s, (just before her death, I guess) Baen had released a bunch of two-book omnibuses of Norton’s work. Also now out of print and not on current shelves, but another way to acquire her titles since her DAW and ACE runs.
Yes, I have a few of those baen reprint omnibuses. I’m going to try and find as many of her books as I can. I’ve got a few I’ve picked up along the way. I need to organize them and catalogue what I’ve got.
St. Clair, born (good heavens!!) down the road from me in Hutchinson Kansas, had stories adapted for TV shows like “Thriller” and “Rod Serling’s Night Gallery.” All her work is worth the reader’s time. Yes, I first read Norton in Jnr. High and I recently read her stories about the brave kitty “Noble Warrior” in the “Catfantastic” anthologies she co-edited with Greenberg. Great fun!