Complete Collection of Books by Female Speculative Fiction Authors
Arkham House, the famed weird fiction publishing company, began at the end, some could say. Born from the the loss of H.P. Lovecraft in 1937, devoted fans August Derleth and Donald Wandrei created a publishing house in hopes of raising the profile of Lovecraft's works and letters. Starting in 1939, Arkham House was primarily driven by Lovecraft anthologies, but Derleth and Wandrei quickly expanded authorship to include themselves and others, including women. They also broadened Arkham House’s scope beyond short stories to include poetry and novels, and added works of science fiction and fantasy to their offerings.
We do acknowledge (and love!) that many anthologies in Arkham’s catalog include short stories and poems written by female authors, many of whom are present in this collection, and several of whom are not. However, for the sake of this collection, we focused on the published works that were solely authored by women, as opposed to the inclusion of their work in an anthology. Written between 1900 and 1990, the works of these extraordinary women authors, who also served as professors, poets, editors, and serial magazine contributors, highlight the depth and diversity of their contributions to the genre. As was common with Arkham House, many of the stories and poems were culled from popular weird fiction magazines of the time, including Weird Tales and Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, and a few compiled posthumously. All books in this collection are in Near Fine to Fine condition, and include dust jackets in like condition, with the exception of The Curse of Yig which is Better Than Very Good in like dust jacket. The collection also includes one of the nicest copies we have seen of A Hornbook for Witches, the scarcest of Arkham House books!
The collection includes, in chronological order:
- WALTON, Evangeline. Witch House. 1945. Limited to 2,949 copies.
- ASQUITH, Cynthia. This Mortal Coil. 1947. Limited to 2,609 copies.
- DRAKE, Leah Bodine. A Hornbook for Witches: Poems of Fantasy. 1950. Limited to 553 copies.
- BISHOP, Zealia. The Curse of Yig. 1953. Limited to 1,200 copies.
- LA SPINA, Greye. Invaders from the Dark. 1960. Limited to 1,500 copies.
- WILKINS-FREEMAN, Mary E. Collected Ghost Stories. 1974. Limited to 4,155 copies.
- BOWEN, Marjorie (Margaret Gabrielle Vere Long). Kecksies and Other Twilight Tales. 1976. Limited to 4,391 copies.
- EISENSTEIN, Phyllis. Born to Exile. 1978. Limited to 4,148 copies. SIGNED.
- COUNSELMAN, Mary Elizabeth. Half in Shadow. 1978. Limited to 4,288 copies.
- WALTER, Elizabeth. In the Mists and Other Uncanny Encounters. 1979. Limited to 4,053 copies.
- RUSS, Joanna. The Zanzibar Cat. 1983. Limited to 3,526 copies.
- TIPTREE, Jr. James. (Dr. Alice B. Sheldon) Tales of Quintana Roo. 1986. Limited to 3,673 copies.
- LEE, Tanith. Dreams of Dark and Light: The Great Short Fiction of Tanith Lee. 1986. Limited to 3,957 copies.
- TIPTREE, JR., James (Dr. Alice B. Sheldon). Her Smoke Rose Up Forever: The Great Years of James Tiptree, Jr. 1990. Limited to 4,108 copies.
- KRESS, Nancy. The Aliens of Earth. 1993. Limited to 3,520 copies.
- ROSENBLUM, Mary. Synthesis & Other Virtual Realities. 1996. Limited to 3,515 copies.
Price: $6,000.00
Item #10646