Marion Zimmer Bradley

Marion Zimmer Bradley was a prominent American author, best known for her works in the fantasy and science fiction genres. She was born in Albany, New York, in 1930 and went on to receive her B.A. from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, in 1964. Bradley began writing professionally in 1952, selling her first short story to VORTEX SCIENCE FICTION. She wrote in various genres, including science fiction, fantasy, and even produced some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels under pseudonyms.

Bradley is most famous for her Darkover series, which is set on a lost earth colony where psi powers have developed to an unusual degree. The series began with the publication of her 1958 story, The Planet Savers, and has since grown to include many novels written by Bradley and other authors. In addition to her work on the Darkover series, Bradley also edited the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology, which gave many young authors, including Mercedes Lackey, their start in publishing.

Feminist views were a common theme in Bradley's fiction. Her 1983 novel, The Mists of Avalon, is a retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, and is probably her most famous single novel. The book grew into a series, which has continued to appear after Bradley's death in 1999.

It should be noted that Bradley's reputation has been marred posthumously by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.