An observation recently made in online writing circles concerned the marked differences between female writers of the pulp era and the women who followed in their authorial footsteps.
Just compare women who made their names prior to the 1960s like like C.L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, and even Flannery O’Connor to celebrated authoresses of the latter 20th century like Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Octavia Butler. While all have made noteworthy contributions to genre fiction, a strong case can be made that the pulp-era writers produced superior speculative fiction. The reasons for this claim lie in the creative freedom they enjoyed and the unfiltered boldness with which they wrote.
One key factor to consider is the period in which these pulp-era authors were writing. Genre fiction was still finding its footing in the early to mid-20th century, and the boundaries of what was possible were constantly being pushed. C.L. Moore, for example, brought poetic imagination to her stories that arguably remain unmatched. Her sword-and-sorcery character Jirel of Joiry was a female protagonist possessed of great strength who nonetheless avoided being a Strong Female Protagonist™. Becaue the rule hadn’t yet been written that she needed to be.
But when it came to transgressing Late Modern spec fic pieties, they didn’t come much more transgressive than Leigh Brackett. The Queen of Space Opera freely genre bashed elements of noir, Westerns, and science fiction into lively, action-packed tales that still cast long shadows over sci fi today. No one who came aftere has matched her ability to create swashbuckling adventure stories with a philosophical edge without getting preachy.
Flannery O’Connor, though not a speculative fiction writer in the strictest sense, wove grotesque, otherworldly elements into her Southern Gothic tales. Those unconventional touches are what set her fiction apart–not only from other female authors, but from A list authors who shared her wheelhouse like Faulkner. Her work deliverrd sharp cultural critiques infused with religious and existential themes that transcended genre rules. The result was a murky moral universe that left readers haunted without degrading into nihilism.
In contrast, later authors like Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Octavia Butler came in after genre conventions had become more starkly defined and editors’ expectations more rigid. Their work often featured a post-1960s shift toward navel gazing, political commentary, and sociological sermonizing. That pivot moved them away from the pure adventurous spirit and mythmaking of the pulp era.
The earlier women writers excelled because they embraced the pulps’ fast-paced, emotionally charged stories. In short, they prioritized etnertainment value. Their tales weren’t burdened with social commentary or civics lessons. Later writers, with their heavier emphasis on deconstructing societal constructs and pushing political identity, too often sacrificed the vivid thrills that characterized earlier works.
Pulp-era writers like C.L. Moore, Flannery O’Connor, and Leigh Brackett didn’t play by the rules. Nor did they break them, because nobody even knew the rules yet. They wrote in a time when genre was a blank canvas, and they filled it with space cowboys, sword-wielding heroines, and grotesque Southern nightmares. Their writing held a daring rawness; an adventurous spirit, that set their works apart. Their stories continue to influence modern speculative fiction, and their legacy as some of the most innovative writers of all time remains undeniable.
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I haven’t actually read any Octavia Butler. Of Le Guin’s work, I’ve only read the four main Earthsea books. If I could get back the time I spent reading the Avalon books, I’d be happy to do so. That being said, Bradley’s Avalon books are a good deal less imaginative than the Earthsea cycle. I could go back to Earthsea and enjoy the visit. It’s a coherent secondary world, instead of being a bogus Witch-Culty portrayal of ours. Nor is “Strong Female Protagonist” is as much of an issue. The Earthsea characters make their fair share of mistakes, but it never devolves into awful people being awful as Bradley’s work could. I’d argue Avalon and A Song of Ice and Fire (hack, spit) are cut from the same cloth that way. I’ve considered Earthsea good enough to own, along with The Dark is Rising Saga, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Lord of the Rings. I’d read any of these series to or with young people, once I thought they were old enough to wrestle with the finer points of each. I’d start with Narnia and The Dark is Rising and probably wait a bit for to visit Earthsea and Middle Earth
I’ve actually read Brackett’s script for Empire Strikes Back. It’s really good. There were some big improvements made in the final movie – especially the ending – but there were also some elements I sort of wish has been retained. There was one great scene where Threepio got so scared he reached behind his head and shut himself off.
I also notice Brackett’s main heroic characters tended to be men, and her more interesting female characters were the villainesses or antagonists who contend with them.
Ywain from Sea Kings of Mars/Sword of Rhiannon is one of my favorites, and I wish we’d gotten a sequel to the Dragon Queen of Venus.