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Women writers of the 18^th, 19^th, and early 20^th century don’t seem to receive the credit they are rightfully due. Many of them had to adopt male pseudonyms or names more gender neutral. A few chose to simply use their initials. There were those who excelled without the name change such as Mary Shelley, Jane Austin, and the Brontë Sisters. There were also women popular during their lifetime but lost their place on the bookshelves as time continued marching into the future.

Many of these women did more than just write stories, they created, or at least, helped build, new literary genres. As mentioned in my previous post, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was the start of the science fiction genre. Horace Walpole may have written the first gothic novel, but it was Ann Radcliffe who popularized the genre. (Her work also influenced a future writer by the name of Edgar Allen Poe.) After researching the aforementioned post, I decided it was time for a few reintroductions.

The only problem with making these reintroductions is deciding which, and how many, of the deserving women do I choose. I suspect this post will eventually have a “Part 2.” Since I am currently reading The Mysteries of Udolpho by the aforementioned Ann Radcliffe, let’s include her. Our second woman is C. L. Moore, an important figure in the science fiction genre. I had intended to include a third, but I didn’t feel I could give each woman the attention she deserves. (Just a quick note. I have read some of the works of each of the authors I have chosen – and will choose for future posts – to have a more informed idea as to who these women truly were.)

Ann Radcliffe

A Portrait of Ann Radcliffe.

Ann Ward was born July 9, 1764, in Holborn, London, England to William, a haberdasher, and Ann Ward. When she was 8 years old, her family moved to Bath where her father managed a shop owned by her maternal uncle, Thomas Bentley. She often visited her uncle and became a close friend of his partner’s daughter, Susannah. Susannah, known as Sukey, was Ann’s only known childhood companion. Sukey’s father, Josiah Wedgewood, often referred to Ann as “Bentley’s shy little niece.” A quick note about Sukey. In 1796, she married Dr. Robert Darwin and, on February 12, 1809, gave birth to their son, Charles (yes, that Charles Darwin.)

Due to being in trade, William Ward was able to provide his family with a good life. His position was enough to allow them to mix with other well-to-do families. From this circle of peers, Ann met William Radcliffe, a journalist. In 1787, the couple married and William, we surmise, took note of Ann’s talent and encouraged her to pursue writing.

Ann published her first two novels in 1789 and 1790, those being The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne and A Sicilian Romance, respectively. She chose to do so anonymously. Her third novel, released under her own name, came in 1791. The Romance of the Forest brought her fame, but her next novel made her the most popular novelist in all of England.

The Mysteries of Udolpho (which I am currently reading,) which earned her £500 in 1792. Her popularity was such that when Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice sold for £110 just 21 years later. In today’s currency, Jane earned £9,905.52 while Ann made £96,567 from the sale of her book. (These totals are according to Google.) If the British pound isn’t your thing, here’s a breakdown in U.S. Dollars. £110 = $146.85   £500 = $667.52, £9,905.52 = $13,224.35, and £96,567 = $128,921.72. (These conversions are from xe.com, my go-to site when I want to add foreign currency to a story.)

Her fifth novel, The Italian, earned her £800 (£130,500 in today’s currency and $174,220.62 U.S.). Oddly enough, this was the last novel Ann had published in her lifetime. In 1826, three years after her death, Gaston de Blondeville was published; it was not received as well as her previous works.

Ann withdrew from the world of publishing following The Italian, and numerous rumors began to circulate. Some said she went mad and ended up in an asylum. In truth, she was busy traveling, writing poetry, and enjoying life with her husband.

Ann Radcliffe died on February 7, 1823, peacefully at home.

So, why is she important?

Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel, The Castle of Oranto, is the first Gothic novel. Ann Radcliffe is important to the genre, and to writing in general, for three reasons.

1. She popularized the Gothic novel, giving it a broader appeal.
2. She helped define the distinction between terror and horror. “Terror expands the soul and awakens the faculties to a higher degree of life; horror contracts, freezes, and nearly annihilates them.”
3. Ann was a source of inspiration to numerous writers who came after her. Jane Austin, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, Mary Shelley, and Walter Scott were among these. She was also counted an influence among Dickens, Poe, Hawthorne, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. She was even considered an influence on the Marquis de Sade, though his works were considerably more, well, sadistic.

This is in no way a full biography on Ann Radcliffe. It’s sad that, despite her contributions, Ann has been largely forgotten. Without Ann’s influence, we might not have had Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, or anything by Edgar Allen Poe.

I hope this encourages you to seek out Ann’s novels and learn more about her.

C. L. Moore

Catherine L. Moore circa 1940.

Catherine Lucille Moore was born January 24, 1911, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Otto Newman and Maude Estelle Moore. As a child, she was an avid reader; her favorites included Frank L Baum’s Oz series, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ adventure novels. As she got older, she became a fan of the pulp magazines. In 1929, she began to pursue her dream of being a writer by enrolling as an English major at the University of Indiana. Unfortunately, she only managed three semesters before the Great Depression forced her to attend a business college to become a secretary.

It was during her time as a secretary at the Fletcher Trust Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, Catherine began submitting her writings. By all accounts, her first printed work was a poem; it appeared in The Indianapolis Star on October 7, 1928, and was titled “Song of the Spirit of St. Louis.” This was followed up by three stories published in The Vagabond; they were “Happily Ever After,” “Semira,” and “Two Fantasies.” These appeared between 1930 and 1931. Her first professional work appeared in the pulps in 1933.

At this time, many women writers were using male pseudonyms because they weren’t readily accepted as professionals. Catherine chose to publish as C. L. Moore for a different reason; she wasn’t ready for her coworkers at Fletcher Trust to know she what she was doing.

Catherine sold her first professional work to Weird Tales and the story “Shambleau” in the pulp’s November 1933 issue. It introduced one of her most famous characters, an adventurer named Northwest Smith; Northwest was a bit of a rogue who wandered about the Solar System. The following year, in the October 1934 issue, she introduced Jirel of Joiry, one of the first female protagonists in the sword-and-sorcery genre. Jirel’s first appearance, and her most famous story, was “Black God’s Kiss.” By the 1940s, Catherine’s stories had begun appearing in Astounding Science Fiction magazine.

In 1935, Catherine’s work had drawn the attention of fellow writer, H. P. Lovecraft, and the two corresponded until shortly before his death in 1937. In 1936, her work had caught the attention of another man, a member of the Lovecraft Circle. He sent her a fan letter under the impression C. L. Moore was a man; it was a letter than would change both Catherine’s life and the science fiction genre.

The man was Henry Kuttner. Born in Los Angeles, California on April 17, 1915, Henry was also a contributor to the pulp magazines. His first published story, “The Graveyard Rats,” appeared in Weird Tales in March 1936. It was this tale which caught the attention of H. P. Lovecraft. (Since I intend to go into more detail on Henry in a later post, we will skip to the part where he writes his fan letter.) It was actually Lovecraft who suggested Henry write to Catherine. Considering Lovecraft and Moore had been corresponding with each other since 1935, we assume he knew she was a woman. As to why he didn’t mention this to Henry when he encouraged him to write his fan letter is anyone’s guess. He might have assumed Henry knew, or maybe he withheld this information for fun. Regardless, Henry’s letter began simply, “Mr. Moore.”

Catherine showed him the error of assuming and the two eventually began a much more intimate correspondence. In 1937, while still friends, Catherine and Henry collaborated on their first story, “Quest of the Starstone.” Combining her style and his storytelling, the pair successfully crafted a story that brought together Catherine’s two most popular characters, Northwest Smith and Jirel of Joiry.

At some point after this initial collaboration, these two realized they had become more than friends. On June 7, 1940, Henry Kuttner, Jr., age 25, married Catherine Lucille Moore, age 29, in New York City. Mrs. Beverly Claire Finlay, wife of Weird Tales artist Virgil Finlay, and Mrs. Annie Kuttner, Henry’s mother, were the couple’s witnesses. The couple had many collaborations, but they also continued writing their own stories as well. One of their most used pseudonyms was Lewis Padgett; it was a combination of their mothers’ maiden names.

The couple moved to Los Angeles, California in 1950 and enrolled at the University of Southern California. While earning their degrees, they also taught courses on writing. During this time, they began to shift their writing focus to mysteries. The pair served as joint vice presidents in The Mystery Writers of America. They also went to work for Warner Brothers developing television scripts. Then, tragedy struck.

Henry Kuttner died of a heart attack on February 3, 1958.

With his passing, Catherine retired from writing literary fiction and began to focus on television. Having written scripts for 77 Sunset Strip and Maverick, among others, she retired from writing for good in 1963.

On July 18, 1963, Catherine married Thomas Reggie. Catherine was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1984 and passed away April 4, 1987, due to complications from the disease and pneumonia.

So, why is she important?

1. She helped pierce the barrier that kept women from writing in the science fiction and sword and sorcery genres. Among many of the Lovecraft circle, including H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, she was a top-notch writer. Her collaborations with her husband and others proved women could not only keep pace with male writers but improve their work.
2. She created characters who became touchstone characters. Without Northwest Smith, we might have never had Han Solo.
3. She set an impressive bar as a speculative writer that influenced not only future writers such as Marion Zimmer Bradley, C. J. Cherryh, and Michael Moorcock, but also contemporaries such as Leigh Brackett and Robert E. Howard.

Catherine L. Moore was the recipient of numerous awards, including World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement in 1981, and, posthumously, the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award (along with Henry Kuttner) in 2004. She was also, again posthumously, inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in1998. She was also the first woman nominated to be the Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America. At the request of her husband, Thomas Reggie, the committee withdrew her nomination due to her failing health.

I hope I have enticed you to research the life of Catherine Lucille Moore for yourself. She truly did help shape the face of science fiction.

The Wrap Up

Two women, relatively unknown to the modern reader, but upon whose work are built franchises. Pop culture owes these and other women a debt of gratitude. I hope this little glimpse, as brief as it was, will cause you to seek out other female writers that have fallen out of the public memory.

If you are interested in reading some of their works, I found Ann Radcliffe’s works on Amazon for my Kindle. Catherine L. Moore’s works are also available on Amazon. You can also find their books at thriftbooks.com.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any more largely forgotten women writers you would like me to reintroduce to the world.

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