Henry Kuttner

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Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915–February 4, 1958) was a science fiction author born in Los Angeles, California. As a young man he worked for a literary agency before selling his first story, "The Graveyard Rats", to Weird Tales in 1936.

Contents

[edit] Kuttner and Moore

Kuttner was known for his literary prose and worked in close collaboration with his wife, C. L. Moore. They met through their association with the "Lovecraft Circle", a group of writers and fans who corresponded with H. P. Lovecraft. [1]Their work together spanned the 1940s and 1950s and most of the work was credited to pseudonyms, mainly Lewis Padgett and Lawrence O'Donnell. Both freely admitted that one reason they worked so much together was because his page rate was higher than hers. In fact, several people have written or said that she wrote three stories which were published under his name. "Clash by Night" and The Portal in the Picture, also known as Beyond Earth's Gates, have both been alleged to have been written by her.

L. Sprague de Camp, who knew Kuttner and Moore well, has stated that their collaboration was so intensive that, after a story was completed, it was often impossible for either Kuttner or Moore to recall who had written which portions. According to de Camp, it was typical for either partner to break off from a story in mid-paragraph or even mid-sentence, with the latest page of the manuscript still in the typewriter. The other spouse would routinely continue the story where the first had left off. They alternated in this manner as many times as necessary until the story was finished.

Among Kuttner's most popular work were the Gallegher stories, published under the Padgett name, about a man who invented robots when he was stinking drunk, only to be completely unable to remember exactly why he had built them after sobering up. These stories were later collected in Robots Have No Tails. In the introduction to the paperback reprint edition after his death, Moore stated that all the Gallegher stories were written by Kuttner alone.

In 2007, New Line Cinema released a feature film based on the Lewis Padgett short story "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" under the title The Last Mimzy. In addition, The Best of Henry Kuttner was republished under the title The Last Mimzy Stories.

[edit] Influence

Marion Zimmer Bradley is among many authors who have cited Kuttner as an influence. Her novel The Bloody Sun is dedicated to him. Roger Zelazny has talked about the influence of The Dark World on his Amber series.

Kuttner's friend Richard Matheson dedicated his 1954 novel I Am Legend to Kuttner, with thanks for his help and encouragement. Ray Bradbury likewise dedicated Dark Carnival, his first book, to him, calling him one of his hardest-working and most patient teachers; Bradbury has said that Kuttner actually wrote the last 300 words of Bradbury's first horror story, "The Candle" (Weird Tales, November 1942). Bradbury has referred to Kuttner as a neglected master and a "pomegranate writer: popping with seeds -- full of ideas".[2]

[edit] The Cthulhu Mythos

A friend of Lovecraft's as well as of Clark Ashton Smith, Kuttner contributed several stories to the Cthulhu Mythos genre invented by those authors (among others). Among these were "The Secret of Kralitz", "The Eater of Souls", "The Salem Horror", "The Invaders" and "The Hunt".

Kuttner added a few lesser-known deities to the Mythos, including Iod ("The Secret of Kralitz"), Vorvadoss ("The Eater of Souls"), and Nyogtha ("The Salem Horror"). Critic Shawn Ramsey suggests that Abigail Prinn, the villain of "The Salem Horror", might have been intended by Kuttner to be a descendant of Ludvig Prinn, author of De Vermis Mysteriis--a book that appears in Kuttner's "The Invaders".[3]

[edit] Later life

Henry Kuttner spent the middle 1950's getting his masters degree before dying of a heart attack in 1958.

[edit] Partial Bibliography

Short Stories:

  • "The Graveyard Rats" (1936)
  • "The Secret of Kralitz" (1936)
  • "The Eater of Souls" (1937)
  • "The Salem Horror" (1937)
  • Tony Quade stories
    • "Hollywood on the Moon" (1938)
    • "Doom World" (1938)
    • "The Star Parade" (1938)
  • "The Invaders" (1939)
  • "Bells of Horror" (1939)
  • "The Hunt" (1939)
  • Elak of Atlantis stories
    • "Thunder in the Dawn" (1938)
    • "Spawn of Dagon" (1939)
    • "Beyond the Phoenix" (1939)
    • "Dragon Moon" (1940)
  • "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" (1943) used as the basis for the 2007 movie "The Last Mimzy", and for the French TV adaptation "Tout spliques étaient les Borogoves" (1970)
  • "Clash by Night" (with C. L. Moore) (1943)
  • "The Proud Robot" (1943)
  • "The Time Locker" (1943)
  • "Gallegher Plus" (1943)
  • "Nothing but Gingerbread Left" (1943)
  • "The Twonky" (1940s?) - adapted for film[1] in 1953
  • "The World Is Mine" (1943)
  • "The Cure" (1946)
  • "Call Him Demon" (1946)
  • "The Vintage Season" (1946)
  • "Ex Machina" (1948)
  • "Happy Ending" (1949)
  • "Satan Sends Flowers" (1953)
  • "Or Else" (??) - published in the anthology The War Book (edited by James Sallis, 1969).
  • The Best of Henry Kuttner anthologizes 17 stories. (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1975).

Fixups

Novels

  • The Fairy Chessmen
  • Dr. Cyclops (1940)
  • The Creature from Beyond Infinity (1940)
  • Valley of the Flame (1946)
  • The Dark World (1946)
  • The Portal in the Picture, also known as Beyond Earth's Gates (with C. L. Moore) (1946)
  • Fury, (1947)
  • The Time Axis (1948)
  • The Well of the Worlds (1952)

[edit] Pseudonyms

  • Edward J. Bellin
  • Paul Edmonds
  • Noel Gardner
  • Will Garth
  • James Hall
  • Keith Hammond
  • Hudson Hastings
  • Peter Horn
  • Kelvin Kent
  • Robert O. Kenyon
  • C. H. Liddell
  • Hugh Maepenn
  • Scott Morgan
  • Lawrence O'Donnell
  • Lewis Padgett
  • Woodrow Wilson Smith
  • Charles Stoddard

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ DeCamp, Warlocks and Warriors, p. 167 (NY, Berkley 1971)
  2. ^ Ray Bradbury, "Introduction: Henry Kuttner: A Neglected Master." in The Best of Henry Kuttner, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1975, pp. vii-xii. "Pomegranate" is on p. vii; Shawn Ramsey, "Henry Kuttner's Cthulhu Mythos Fiction: An Overview", in The Horror of It All, Robert M. Price, ed.
  3. ^ Ramsey, p. 122.

[edit] External links

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