Ruby M. Spankie

Talk about obscure: as far as I can tell, Ruby M. Spankie wrote only one novel, and that for a minor paperback firm way back in 1933.

It would appear that Ruby Mary Spankie, born in Inverness, Scotland, on 19 October 1898, lived most of her adult life in London. Her mother, Catherine, was widowed at around the age of 41 or 42 and raised her children—of which there were at least five—in Bedford. Catherine Spankie seems to have lived in India for at least a decade between 1886-96.

Through local papers and the occasional official record, we can touch base with Ruby at various points in her life. She was crowned May Queen at a May Fair held to raise money for the Building Fund of the St. Peter's Sunday Schools and Parish Rooms in May 1908. She attended Crescent House Ladies' College, Bedford. She appeared in the operetta at Bedford Town Hall, The Tree of the Golden Guineas, in 1914. In 1921, she was working as a shorthand typist at the War Office, and the family were living in Fulham.

Ruby was the author of And the World Said— (London, Gramol Publications [Adelphi Novels 35], 1933). Whether she continued writing novels or not is a mystery. A search for her name on Google doesn't get a single hit, but it is known that she wrote at least two plays: 'Sheltered' (1938), which was performed by the Southern Cross Players at the Twentieth Century Theatre, Westbourne (Spankie was the Honorary Secretary of the Society); and 'All Change' (1939) from the same team.

Ruby lived in Fulham after the war and was at the same address, 64c Fairholme Road, W14, from 1945 until her death in 1983. It would seem that she continued to have an interest in local theatre and was an actress with the Beaufort Players and appeared as Miss Marple in Murder at the Vicarage at St. Andrew's Hall, Vereker Road, Fulham, in 1952. She also appeared in Sit Down a Minute, Adrian (1953).

(* My thanks to Jamie Sturgeon for the cover photograph. Expanded from a post from 6 September 2007.)

Ron Tilling

Following on from last week's discovery of a previously unknown science fiction writer, I continued to dig further and have found another—but this time we can actually identify a couple of his stories. Both appeared under the name Ron Paul in the pages of Authentic Science Fiction Monthly: 'Blue Rose' (little more than a vignette) in issue 56 (April 1955) and 'Lonely Immortal' in issue 67 (March 1956).

In the 25 February 1956 issue of the Louth Standard, above a headline 'Science Fiction Writing. Young Louth author's profitable spare-time occupation', is a photo of Ron Tilling at his typewriter. Sadly, the image in the copy I have available is so poor that he is barely distinguishable from the typewriter. The article reveals much about Tilling's persistence.

Science fiction writing has been turned into a profitable spare-time occupation by 20-year-old Ron Tilling, of 10a Queen Street, Louth. After finishing his day's work in a Louth office, he begins work on his own typewriter—bought out of his spare-time earnings. But instead of accounts and business letters he taps out accounts of life on other planets, space ships, space travel and the like.
    Since he started writing short stories three years ago Ron has had plenty of rejection slips, but has recently sold four stories—two to a science fiction magazine and two to "Midweek Reveille."
    His writing has earned him 36gns., which has almost covered the cost of a new portable typewriter and a correspondence course on fiction writing.
    Of science fiction writing he says "I try to base it on the accepted scientific possibilities. I hate fantasy."
    To give his stories the right authentic backgrounds, he reads all he can in the way of scientific news, and uses his imagination to enlarge on it.
    He took up writing as a hobby when he was at school. Prevented by attacks of asthma and bronchitis from joining in any kind of sport, he found he had more time on his hands than most boys.
    Later, he helped form a concert party among Youth Centre members. It was named the Flying Saucers (even then things from outer space had a fascination for him), and he wrote the scripts for the one act plays which were produced by them.
    The Saucers broke up in July, 1953 and Ron turned his hand to writing short stories. He took a correspondence course, and joined the Penman Club, who criticised his manuscripts and advised him about markets.
    A typewriter was bought out of money he had saved, and by now the machine has almost paid for itself out of earnings.
    His first  effort, 'The Guests of Binham Hall' met with lots of rejection slips, as did the stories which came after.
    Then his father died, and for almost six months Ron did not write a thing.
    Last winter came his first success, a science fiction thriller, 'The Blue Rose,' was accepted by Authentic Science, a monthly magazine.
    It was printed on 15th April—a great day for Ron—and appeared under his pen name Ron Paul. Paul, by the way, is the first part of girl friend Pauline's name.

SHIFTED PLANETS

Since then another of his stories, 'Lonely Immortal,' has been accepted by the magazine, and two humorous stories have been accepted by Reveille.
    "I used to enjoy reading science fiction, and that is how I came to write it," he explained. "There is a better chance of getting it published, too, because there are fewer science fiction writers."
    Although the stories he has sold have taken only a few hours to write, he is not always able to dash them off so quickly.
    One story, 'The Machine,' ran to 1,500 words when it was first written. After it had "done the rounds" of editors, he re-wrote it, this time extending it to 8,000 words and shifting it to another planet!
    He has also tried his hand at dramatic fiction and religious drama, and altogether has completed some 50 short stories.
    Ron is fast discovering the problems facing an up-and-coming writer. For instance, one editor to whom he submitted a story replied that there must be no mention of drink or gambling in the script. One of the scenes had been set in the bar of the "local."
    Ron's mother, Mrs. A. G. Tilling, had an urge to write when she was young. She was Ron's first critic, and is very proud of his success.
    He is a great reader. His favourite authors are Ray Bradbury, John Steinbeck, Somerset Maugham and Stephen Lister.

From the evidence in the article, it would appear that Ronald Tilling was born in 1936, his birth registered in Grimsby, not far from Louth in Lincolnshire. He was the younger son of James A. Tilling, a motor mechanic, and Alice Gertrude Johnson, who were married in 1928. A brother, Tony, was born in 1930. James Tilling died in early 1954, aged 51, and Alice married her second husband, David White, in 1957. The marriage did not last, as David died in 1958, aged 66, and Alice married a third time, to Cyril Leonard, in 1959. She died in 2002.

Ronald Tilling married Pauline Smith in early 1958, after which I lose track of him. [He is not the person named Ronald Tilling who died in 1982 (b.1918), 1988 (b.1914) or 2003 (b.1929).]

The Flying Saucers' Revue variety group ran for 14 months at the Louth Youth Centre and first performed in December 1950. The company of eleven was led by Mervyn Edward Cawte (1928-1996) and Miss K. M. Stephenson (warden), and made their first  appearance at the Youth Centre's Christmas party with a half-hour show. The group included comedians, tap dancers, singers, and musicians.

They made their performance debut in March 1951 at the Liberal Club in aid of the Old Age Pensioners' Building Fund. Ron Tilling appeared in a one act comedy play, 'To-day Of All Days', produced by Miss K. M. Stevenson and Mrs. E. Teesdale. A later show in June included a theme song ('Two Little Men in a Flying Saucer'), which opened the show, with Tilling appearing in appearing in comedy sketches.

They disbanded in January 1952 with some of the Saucers deciding to form a new company, the District Amateur Variety Entertainments Company, led by M. E. Cawte, with Ron Tilling as Secretary. I have a feeling that this was a short-lived venture as Cawte was soon after separated from his wife and moved to Southsea.

T. Stanleyan King

After too long, here's another mystery that has me mystified. T. Stanleyan King is an author with a career that may have lasted over 30 years but about whom nothing is known. There is no sign of a Stanleyan King in family records or in any newspapers that I have been able to access, so I have to presume it was a pen-name.

While I've never read a single one of his books, the titles alone made me want to track him down. Hopefully someone, somewhere will have some further information.

T. Stanleyan King's work dates back to Edwardian-era James Henderson’s  boys’ papers Lot-o'-Fun, Sparks and Nugget Library and the Amalgamated Press's Young Britain (stories featuring Staunton School in c.1921).  Collector John Medcraft, briefly discussing a “fine serial” entitled “Laleham’s Feud”—“founded on fact”—in the pages of Lot-o’-Fun, believed that King might be a pen-name of John Nix Pentelow, but Pentelow’s death in 1931 and the continued appearance of King makes it appear unlikely.

Stanleyan King was a regular contributor to various Aldine libraries in the 1920s, and may well have contributed to Aldine’s weekly papers, too. In the 1930s, he was writing novelettes for Mellifont Press, some of them featuring Scarsdale Waring and some with titles that hint at a horror/occult flavour. After that he disappears entirely from human ken.

Novels (series: Dixon Brett; Dick Daring; Scarsdale Waring)
Laleham's Feud. London, James Henderson (Nugget Library 141), 1909.
The Missing Statuette. London, James Henderson (Nugget Library 247), Nov 1912.
The Scarlet Ikon. London, Aldine Detective Tales 10, Jun 1922.
Dick Daring, the Mystery Pro. London, Aldine Football Stories 2, Nov 1922.
Dick Daring Scores Again. London, Aldine Football Stories 5, Jan 1923.
Dick Daring, International. London, Aldine Football Stories 9, May 1923.
Who Killed Stephen Tennant?. London, Aldine Mystery Novels 4, Jan 1926.
The Football Imposter. London, Aldine Football Novels 11, Mar 1926.
The Masked Apollo. London, Aldine Boxing Novels 19, Jul 1926.
The Missing Mayor <Brett>. London, Aldine Dixon Brett Detective Library 2, Oct 1926.
The All-Conquering Game. London, Aldine Football Novels 19, Nov 1926.
The Yellow Wolf <Brett>. London, Aldine Dixon Brett Detective Library 4, Dec 1926.
Comrades of the Canvas. London, Aldine Boxing Novels 27, Mar 1927.
Dandy Dick's Mascot. London, Aldine Boxing Novels 40, Apr 1928.
Diana’s Romance . Dublin, Mellifont Press, c.1932.
Through Flame to Fortune . Dublin, Mellifont Press, c.1932.
The Rosy Death . Dublin, Mellifont Press [4½d Series 10], c.1932.
The Grey Manor Ghost . Dublin, Mellifont Press [4½d Series 13], c.1932.
Viola’s Dilemma . Dublin, Mellifont Press 201, 1932.
The Headless Ghost . Dublin, Mellifont Press 204, 1932; reprinted, Mellifont Press 2319, 1941.
The Kidnapped Prince . Dublin, Mellifont Press 206, 1932.
The Motor Horn Mystery . Dublin, Mellifont Press 213, 1932.
Slayer of Souls . Dublin, Mellifont Press 214, 1932.
The Monk’s Croft Mystery . Dublin, Mellifont Press 227, 1933.
The Mummy’s Curse . Dublin, Mellifont Press 235, 1933.
Black Magic <Waring>. Dublin, Mellifont Press 256, 1934.
The Call of Death <Waring>. Dublin, Mellifont Press 291, 1934.
Vampire City <Waring>. Dublin, Mellifont Press 2116, 1935.
The Fatal Image . Dublin, Mellifont Press 2266, 1940.

David Mazroff

I had an interesting enquiry (thanks, Cindy!) regarding an American writer of true-crime articles, a prolific contributor to Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine in 1968-77, who also wrote a few novellas featuring a character named Rick Harper for Mike Shayne and the Charlie Chan Mystery Magazine. Mazroff was also one of the authors who wrote as Brett Halliday, although only a single story, I believe ('To Kill a Cop', Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, August 1972).

I emphasise this because, while I was digging around, I found an article in a 1973 newspaper which implied that Mazroff was the regular author behind the Mike Shayne stories and had written over 500 stories and novelettes.

The article (Kokomo Tribune, 15 April 1973) claimed that "For over 40 years, Mazroff has woven experiences and facts from courthouse digs into fiction and non-fiction pieces that have sold in the millions. His main character is private detective Mike Shayne, who from his Miami office is featured in novelettes and short stories in the monthly Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. Mazroff, also known as Brett Halliday, describes the shamus as a guy of average education and intelligence who gets knocked down but bounces back to logically solve case after case."

The article describes Mazroff as "an easygoing, always-thinking man nearing retirement age. After years of pulling Shayne through scrapes, Mazroff has created a new character, Rick Harper. This young, sophisticated MIT graduate is a roving private detective who pursues virtuous cases, such as seeking revenge against the mob for killing a little old lady. Mazroff started out as a police and court reporter. He also writes westerns and nonfiction. He says ideas are plentiful to a fertile mind. And the daily news provides incidents around which stories are built. Mazroff believes anecdotes from his own life enrich his writing. He uses his storytelling ability to answer questions and give reporters something to write about. his True Crime stories about such people as Pretty Boy Floyd and Tony Accardo (also known as Joe Batters) give insights into the world of organized crime which Mazroff discovered many years ago in Chicago."

Mazroff did, indeed, have some insights into criminal activity not, as he claimed, from 40 years of writing, but from his own criminal activities.

Mazroff was born in Russia on 10 April 1907, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants who moved to America in 1912. By 1920, father Harry Mazroff was working as a machine operator in Detroit, Michigan, while his wife, Sarah (nee Gerstein), was looking after their large family of children—Rudolf [Nathan R.], Sam, Dave, Mary, Elizabeth, Molly, Annie and Joseph—who were aged between 2 and 15. Harry remained in Detroit until his death in 1945.

By then, his son Dave Mazroff was already in trouble with the law. At least as early as 1935, Mazroff was arrested as a suspect in the May 1935 holdup of the Wayne Discount Corp. loan office in Lafayette Boulevard, Detroit. Mazroff was found guilty by a jury of armed robbery. Mazroff was no newcomer: a report on the court case that November noted that this was the second felony on Mazroff's record, and that he had more than 30 holdups and one shooting on his arrest card. Mazroff had almost escaped while on his way from the County Jail to Recorder's Court two months earlier. The report also noted that his mother was in court and had collapsed and had to be carried out when the jury, which had sat for only 30 minutes, brought their guilty verdict.

At the time of the 1940 census, Mazroff was a prisoner at the Black Township Prison Farm.

On 11 January 1945, Mazroff was reputedly involved in the murder of Senator Warren G. Hooper. A key witness in the Sigler-Carr grand jury investigation of graft in the Legislature, Hooper had repeatedly asked Kim Sigler, then special prosecutor for the grand jury, for protection. It was never given. Nor was Hooper offered a police escort on the day he was due to testify.

Five years later, in November 1949, Dave Mazroff and Morris Raider were named as the gunmen by two convicted criminals. It was said that they received $25,000 paid by DC Pettit, former deputy warden of Jackson prison. The money came from a former Benton Harbor sports promoter, now dead, who was acting as a go-between for a prominent politician. Pettit was said to have buried the murder weapon at the Jackson Prison Farm before being ousted from the prison during a shake-up a few months later.

Mazroff was identified by Charles L. Barker, assistant sergeant-at-arms in the State Senate, from a newspaper photograph. Barker later said that Mazroff approached him at the Senate door only a few hours before Hooper was slain, asking him to point out the Senator.

In October 1950, Mazroff was cleared after taking a lie-detector test at State Police Headquarters in East Lansing. "Ask me anything," Mazroff said. "I've been under a cloud and can't get a decent job." Capt. Edward Cooper of the State Police said "He answered every question satisfactorily and we explored every possible angle of the slaying."

Hooper's murder was later laid at the feet of brothers Harry and Sammy Fleisher and Myron (Mikey) Selik, who were convicted of conspiracy in the murder. The latter was a friend of Mazroff's and was best man at his wedding. [I believe Mazroff married Frances Kowarskie; they had a son, Gary Michael Mazroff, who died in May 1947 at only five weeks old.] Selik was convicted of robbery while an appeal on the Hooper case was pending, and was facing 25 to 50 years; he jumped bail and, after hiding out in Chicago under the alias Max Green, was captured two years later during an unsuccessful fur-and-jewelry robbery in the Bronx. The murder has been described as the last major action of the infamous Purple Gang, a mob of bootleggers and hijackers based in Detroit and active between the 1920s and 1940s. The Fleishers and Selik were members, and Mazroff was later described as "a hanger-on in the old Purple Gang circle."

In 1950, Mazroff may have been shown to be not guilty of the murder of Hooper, but he wasn't off the hook. Freed of the accusation of murder, he was immediately turned over to Detroit police and prosecuted on a charge of attempting to browbeat a woman into extorting $10,0000 from Lou Creekmur, the Detroit Lions footballer. Mazroff and two other conspirators pleaded "Not Guilty" when accused by 19-year-old Lucille Genoff that they had tried to force her to confront Creekmur and accuse him of rape. Mazroff wanted her to lure Creekmur to her apartment, but Miss Genoff purposely drove Mazroff's car into a telephone pole to alert police.

Mazroff's defence was that the blackmail plot was a practical joke against Miss Genoff. A jury failed to see the funny side and convicted him. Mazroff was sent to Jackson Prison to serve 2 1/2 to 5 years.

Mazroff was later charged with wounding William Breisacher in a shooting at Corky's Restaurant in September 1953. Mazroff was arrested at the home of Louis J. Beckerman, an auto parts dealer who employed him, before he could flee the city. Identified by the manager and one of the waitresses at the restaurant, they revealed that Mazroff fired five shots at Breisacher and his blind dinner companion, Miss Mary Ann Bellas, wounding the former in the thumb but seriously wounding the latter below the heart. The shooting followed an argument between Breisacher and Mazroff, who had arrived together. Mazroff was escorted out, but returned a few minutes later with a gun.

Mazroff was sentenced to 7 1/2 to 15 years for the shooting and was in prison when he was charged with involvement with arson and conspiracy with his former boss, Louis Beckerman, whose garage had burned down. Insurance companies paid out $22,716, believing the fire was accidental. Mazroff later admitted setting the fire and was charged in April 1954. In a coda to this story, a police detective was cleared in January 1955 of offering Mazroff immunity, the note produced with the detective's signature being a forgery, written by Mazroff.

Mazroff was active as a writer in the late 1950s, writing articles and stories for Argosy, Adventure and Guilty Detective Story Magazine. It seems likely that he wrote under pseudonyms, as his known output under his own name is not extensive, until his association with Mike Shayne's Mystery Magazine in 1968-77. 

Mazroff died in Los Angeles on 11 November 1982.

(* Header photo via Historic Images; smaller photo via eBay; Mike Shayne Magazine cover via the FictionMags Index, which has a list of Mazroff's contributions to various magazines.)

John Kippax cover gallery

John Kippax was the pen-name of John Hynam (1915-1974), a musician and writer who met his collaborator, Dan Morgan, in the 1950s. They co-wrote the Venturer Twelve books together, with "Kippax" writing the fourth book alone. Morgan was to have written a fifth book, but it never appeared, leaving the series on something of a cliffhanger.

A Thunder of Stars by Dan Morgan & John Kippax
Pan 0330-24098-6, 1974, 200pp, 40p. Cover by Dean Ellis (originally the cover of Ballantine's 1973 edition of The Neutral Stars)

In the dark of space lies a new dimension of fear...
    The stars are no longer neutral and Mankind becomes aware that the skies are shared with an alien race.
    United Earth and its colonies are protected by thinly spread starships of the Space Corps manned by such very specially qualified men and women as Tom bruce of Venturer Twelve and Helen Lindstrom, his second-in-command.
    In Space they had to play God. And the worlds hated them for it.

Seed of Stars by Dan Morgan & John Kippax
Pan 0330-24099-4, 1974, 210pp, 40p. Cover by Dean Ellis (originally the cover of Ballantine's 1973 edition of Expedition to Earth by Arthur C. Clarke)

'Can we even begin to understand the motivation of a completely nonhuman race...'
United Earth needs strong colonies who can stand by her as allies, not rebellious subject planets.
    Kepler III is peopled by colonists of Asiatic origin, their ruler prepared to lie and cheat for independence, their future threatened by monstrous mutations.
    Decoyed into deep space, Commander Tom Bruce finds that the planet which his starship Venturer Twelve was to protect lies at the mercy of an unknown enemy.
    On his actions depends the future of the human race...

The Neutral Stars by Dan Morgan & John Kippax
Pan 0330-24250-4, 1975, 215pp, 40p. Cover by John Berkey

'Is there no defence against these aliens?'
Until the 'Space Warp' drive was perfected for the Space Corps dreadnoughts of United Earth, the solar system lay at the mercy of alien beings in sub-space.
    Elkan Niebohr, head of the Excelsior Colonization Corporation with its fleet of merchantmen, was intent on carrying out his own research using planet Orphelin and its neighbouring asteroid.
    When Orphelin went off the air, Commander Tom Bruce took his starship Venturer Twelve into orbit at full battle alert.
    Had Niebohr's plans gone awry or had alien forces struck yet again?

Where No Stars Guide by John Kippax
Pan 0330-24251-2, 1975, 154pp, 40p. Cover by John Berkey

'The aliens have come from somewhere within the holes in space'
United Earth's need for warp drive locked three people in bitter conflict...
    Elsa Niebohr, who chose a Balomain planet for Excelsior Coporation's research into sub-space travel...
    Surgeon Lieutenant Creighton who needed Venturer Twelve to capture an alien being alive...
    Commando Tom Bruce – on assignment to protect Balomain Four – who preferred his aliens dead.
    The arrival in space of an enormous, shimmering, gold ball with its strange cargo brought problems for them all...

Bruce Sterling cover gallery

NOVELS

Involution Ocean (New York, Jove/HBJ, 1977; London, New English Library, 1980)
New English Library 0450-04545-5, (Jan) 1980, 172pp, 80p. Cover by Tim White
Legend 0099-58920-6, (Sep) 1988, 175pp, £2.50.

The Artificial Kid (New York, Harper and Row, 1980)
Penguin 0140-07335-3, 1985, 245pp, £2.50. Cover by Peter Jones
Roc UK 0140-17863-5, (Jan) 1993, 245pp, £4.99. Cover by Peter Jones
HardWired 1888-86916-X, (Sep) 1997, 309pp, £8.99. *distributed in UK by Penguin

Schismatrix (New York, Arbor House, 1985; Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1986)
Penguin 0140-08135-6, (Feb) 1986, 288pp, £2.50. Cover by John Harris

Islands in the Net (New York, Arbor House/William Morrow, 1988; London, Legend, 1988)
Legend/Century 0712-61667-5, (Oct) 1988, 448pp, £5.95 [tpb]. Cover by Chris Moore
Legend 0099-55200-0, (Oct) 1989, 448pp, £4.50.

The Difference Engine, with Bruce Sterling (London, Victor Gollancz, 1990; New York, Bantam Spectra, 1991)
VGSF 0575-05073-X, (Jul) 1991, 256pp, 383pp, £7.99 [tpb]. Cover by Ian Miller
VGSF/Gollancz 0575-05297-X, (Jul) 1992, ,383pp, £4.99. Cover by Ian Miller
Vista 0575-60029-2, (May) 1996, 383pp, £5.99. Cover by Ian Miller
---- [?2nd imp.] 1997, £5.99. *as 1st imp.
Gollancz/Orion 0575-50029-2, (May) 2003, 383pp, £6.99.
Gollancz (SF Masterworks) 978-0575-09940-1, (Jan) 2011, 384pp, £7.99. Cover by Christopher Gibbs/Arena
---- [2nd imp.] n.d., 384pp, £7.99. Cover based on an image by Christopher Gibbs/Arena

Heavy Weather (New York, Bantam Spectra, 1994; London, Millennium, 1994)
Millennium 1857-98193-6, (Oct) 1994, 280pp, £8.99. Cover by Chris Moore
Phoenix 1857-99299-7, 1995, 280pp, £5.99. Cover photo by Science Photo Library
Millennium 1857-99299-7, 1999, 280pp, £6.99.

Holy Fire (London, Orion/Millennium, 1996; New York, Bantam Spectra, 1996)
Phoenix 1857-99884-7, 1997, 296pp, £5.99. Cover by Holly Warburton

Distraction (New York, Bantam Spectra, 1998; London, Millennium, 1999)
Millennium/Orion 1857-98831-0, (Aug) 1999, 439pp, £9.99 [tpb].
Millennium/Orion 1857-98928-7, (Sep) 2000, 489pp, £6.99. Cover by Trevor Scobie

Zeitgeist (New York, Bantam Spectra, 2000)
(no UK paperback)

The Zenith Angle (New York, Ballantine/Del Rey, 2004)
(no UK paperback)

The Caryatids (New York, Ballantine/Del Rey, 2009)
(no UK paperback)

Love Is Strange: A Paranormal Romance (n/p, 40K, 2012)
(e-book, no UK paperback)

Pirate Utopia (San Francisco, CA, Tachyon Publications, 2016)
(no UK paperback)

COLLECTIONS

Crystal Express (Sauk City, Wisconsin, Arkham House, 1989; London, Legend, 1990)
Legend 0712-63698-6, (Jun) 1990, 317pp, £6.99 [tpb]. Cover by Keith Scaife
Legend 9988-72250-X, 1991, 317pp, £4.99. Cover by Keith Scaife

Globalhead (Shingletown, CA, Mark V. Ziesing, 1992; London, Millennium, 1994)
Millennium 1857-98153-7, 1994, 301pp, £4.99. Cover by Peter Gudynas
Phoenix 1857-99444-2, (Jun) 1996, 301pp, £5.99. Cover by Peter Gudynas

A Good Old-Fashioned Future (New York, Bantam Spectra, 1999; London, Gollancz, 2001)
Gollancz 1857-98710-1, (Apr) 2001, 279pp, £6.99. Cover by Blacksheep

Visionary in Residence (New York, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006)
(no UK paperback)

Ascendencies: The Best of Bruce Sterling (Burton, Michigan, Subterranean Press, 2007)
(no UK paperback)

Gothic High-Tech (Burton, Michigan, Subterranean Press, 2011)
(no UK paperback)

Transreel Cyberpunk, with Rudy Rucker (Los Gatos, CA, Transreal Books, 2016)
(no UK paperback)

OMNIBUS

Schismatrix Plus (contains Crystal Express, Schismatrix) (New York, Ace Books, 1996)
(no UK paperback)

NON-FICTION

The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier (New York, Bantam, 1992; London, Viking, 1993)
Penguin 0140-17734-5, (Jan) 1994, 328pp, £6.99. Cover by Gary Marsh

Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years (New York, Random House, 2002)
(no UK paperback)

Shaping Things (Cambridge, Massachusetts, The MIT Press, 2005)
(no UK paperback)

EDITOR

Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology (New York, Arbor House, 1986; London, Paladin, 1988)
Paladin 0586-08782-6, (Nov) 1988, 239pp, £4.95 [tpb].
HarperCollins 0586-08782-6 (Nov) 1994, xiv+239pp, £4.99.

Twelve Tomorrows (Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT Technology Review, 2014)
(no UK paperback)

Twelve Tomorrows (Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT Technology Review, 2015)
(no UK paperback)

Eric Frank Russell cover gallery

The first science fiction story that really had an impact on me was Eric Frank Russell's 'Alamagoosa' which I remember reading when I was about 12 years old, a fabulous and hilarious story that looses nothing however many times I read it.

I was inspired to revamp this old gallery (from 2008) after reading Into Your Tent by John L. Ingham, a highly detailed biography of Russell, which I heavily recommend to anyone who likes his work. It takes a little while to get into the meat of Russell's life – there's a lot of family background in the first 50 or so pages and Ingham has gone into it in overly meticulous detail (and, yes, that's coming from me, a man who is not known for his brevity) – but I've found learning about his life and discovering / re-discovering his stories a real joy. If you can find a copy (it was published by Plantech (UK) in 2010 as a paperback original at the cheap price of  £9.99), grab it.

When I wrote a little introduction to this gallery back in 2008, I said "Russell published far too little and there's a fair amount of work that remains uncollected—I'd love to do a volume of 'The Early Eric Frank Russell', for instance, to rescue a few of his pre-1950s tales that have never reappeared. They're mostly of archaeological interest only, but I still think it would make a nice collection. Indeed, he's one author I'd love to have a set of 'Complete Stories of...' volumes for on my shelves. Maybe... one day..."I think that still holds true.

One thing I learned from Ingham's book was that some of the paperbacks I had on my shelf were not the definitive versions of the texts, e.g. the latest printings of Wasp are based on the cut text of the American hardback, rather than the complete text of the British hardback. So my old Panther paperbacks have the complete text while the later Methuen and Gollancz editions are abridged. Something to watch out for and a good excuse for me to update my gallery, I thought.

NOVELS

Sinister Barrier (in Unknown Worlds, 1939). Kingswood, Surrey, World’s Work, 1943; revised, Reading, Penn., Fantasy Press, 1948; London, Dobson, 1967.
Cherry Tree Book 407, nd (1952), 190pp, 1/6. Cover by Terry Maloney 
Methuen 0413-58870-X, (Feb) 1986, 201pp, £2.50. Cover by Terry Oakes

Dreadful Sanctuary (serial: Astounding, Jun-Aug 1948). Reading, Penn., Fantasy Press, 1948; London, Museum Press, 1953; revised & abridged [by Russell], New York, Paperback Library, 1963; revised [updating Fantasy Press text] London, New English Library, 1967.

Four Square 1719, 1967, 255pp, 5/-. 
Mandarin 0749-30073-6, (Jul) 1989, 255pp, £3.50.

Sentinels From Space (as The Star Watchers, in Startling Stories, 1951). New York, Bouregy Curl, 1953; London, Museum, 1954; as Sentinels of Space, New York, Ace, 1954.
Methuen 0413-15640-0, (Nov) 1987, vii+227pp, £2.95. Cover by Alan Craddock

Three to Conquer (as Call Him Dead in Astounding Science Fiction, 1955). New York, Avalon, 1956; London, Dobson, 1957. [Note: all book editions follow Avalon text, cut by  c.5,000 words from serial version]
Corgi S596, 1958, 224pp, 2/6. Cover by John Richards
Penguin 2005, 1963, 202pp, 3/6. Cover: 'Orange Blossom' by Max Ernst (1930)
Methuen 0413-15650-9, (Nov) 1987, 211pp, £2.95. Cover by Alan Craddock

Wasp. (abridged) New York, Avalon, 1957; (unabridged), London, Dobson, 1958.
Panther 1487, 1963, 143pp, 2/6. Cover by Richard Powers
Panther 1487-X, 1968, 143pp, 3/6. Cover: photo
Methuen 0413-48850-2, (Feb) 1986, 175pp, £2.50. Cover by Terry Oakes [Avalon text]
Gollancz 0575-07095-1, (Apr) 2000, 175pp, £9.99. Cover: design [Avalon text]
---- [imp.], (Jan) 2001, 175pp, £9.99. Cover by Jim Burns [Avalon text]

The Space Willies (based on the story Plus X). (abridged) New York, Ace, 1958; (unabridged) as Next of Kin, London, Dobson, 1959; edited & abridged, University of London Press (Pilot Books 44), 1964.

Mayflower A14, (Jan) 1962, 160ppm 2/6.

Sphere [SF Classic 13] 0722-17542-6, 1973, 160pp, 30p. Cover by Chris Foss

Mandarin 9743-30072-8, (Jul) 1989, 181pp, £2.99. Cover by Angus McKie

Gollancz 0575-07240-7, (Jun) 2001, 181pp, £9.99. Cover: design

---- [imp.], 2002, 181pp, £9.99. Cover by Chris Moore

The Great Explosion (incorporates the story ...And Then There Were None). London, Dobson, 1962; New York, Dodd, Mead & Co., 1962.
Panther 1625, (Jan) 1964, 144pp, 2/6.
?? Gollancz, 2010

With a Strange Device. London, Dobson, 1964; as The Mind Warpers, New York, Lancer, 1965.
Penguin 2358, (Oct) 1965, 155pp, 3/6. Cover by Allbert Gleizes
Mandarin 0749-30102-3, (Oct) 1989, 154pp, £2.99. Cover by Peter Elson

Design for Great-Day, with Alan Dean Foster. New York, Tor Books, 1995.
(no UK paperback)

OMNIBUS

Entities: The Selected Short Novels of Eric Frank Russell (contains, Wasp; Sentinels from Space; Call Him Dead; Next of Kin; Sinister Barrier; Legwork; Mana; The Mechanical Mice). NESFA Press, Sep 2001.

COLLECTIONS

Deep Space. New York, Fantasy Press, 1954; London, Eyre Spottiswoode, 1956; also with one story omitted, New York, Bantam, 1955
(contains: First Person—Singular; The Witness; Last Blast; Homo Saps; The Timid Tiger; A Little Oil; Rainbows End; The Undecided; Second Genesis. NOTE: First Person—Singular omitted from some editions)
Mandarin 0749-30103-1, (Oct) 1989, 249pp, £3.50. Cover by Peter Elson

Men, Martians and Machines. London, Dobson, 1955; New York, Roy, 1956
(contains: Jay Score; Mechanistra; Symbiotica; Mesmerica)
Corgi S424, 1957, 190pp, 2/6. Cover by John Richards
Panther 1890, Jul 1965, 191pp, 3/6. Cover by Josh Kirby
---- 1890-5, 1968, 191pp, 5/-. Cover by ?

Six Worlds Yonder. New York, Ace, 1958
(contains: The Waitabits; Tieline; Top Secret; Nothing New; Into Your Tent I’ll Creep; Diabologic)
(no UK paperback)

Far Stars. London, Dobson, 1961
(contains: The Waitabits; P.S.; Allamagoosa; Legwork; Diabologic; The Timeless Ones)
Panther 1691, Jun 1964, 128pp, 2/6. 

Dark Tides. London, Dobson, 1962
(contains: The Sin of Hyacinth Peuch; With a Blunt Instrument; A Matter of Instinct; I’m a Stranger Here Myself; This Ones On Me; I Hear You Calling; Wisel The Ponderer; Sole Solution; Rhythm of the Rats; Me and My Shadow; Bitter End)
Panther 1599, Nov 1963, 128pp, 2/6. 
----, (Dec) 1964, 128pp, 2/6.

Somewhere a Voice. London, Dobson, 1965; New York, Ace, 1966
(contains: Somewhere A Voice; U-Turn; Seat of Oblivion; Tieline; Displaced Person; Dear Devil; I Am Nothing)
Penguin 2722, 1968, 188pp, 4/-. Cover by Carl Strüwe

Like Nothing On Earth. London, Dobson, 1975; expanded, London, Methuen, 1986.
(contains: Allamagoosa; Hobbyist; The Mechanical Mice; Into Your Tent Ill Creep; Nothing New; Exposure; Ultima Thule)
Methuen 0413-60010-6, 1986, 159pp, £1.95. Cover by Terry Oakes [adds Allamagoosa]

The Best of Eric Frank Russell, introduced by Alan Dean Foster. New York, Ballentine, 1978.
(contains: Mana; Jay Score; Homo Saps; Metamorphosite; Hobbyist; Late Night Final; Dear Devil; Fast Falls the Eventide; I Am Nothing; Weak Spot; Alamagoosa; Into Your Tent Ill Creep; Study In Still Life (n-f))
(no UK paperback)

Major Ingredients, ed. Rick Katze. Framingham, MA, NESFA Press, Sep 2000.
(contains: Editor’s Introduction (by Rick Katze); Eric Frank Russell (by Jack L. Chalker); Allamagoosa; …And Then There Were None; The Army Comes to Venus; Basic Right; Dear Devil; Diabologic; Fast Falls the Eventide; Hobbyist; Homo Saps; I Am Nothing; Into Your Tent I’ll Creep; Jay Score; Last Blast; Late Night Final; A Little Oil; Meeting on Kangshan; Metamorphosite; Minor Ingredient; Now Inhale; Nuisance Value; Panic Button; Plus X; Study in Still Life; Tieline; The Timid Tiger; Top Secret; The Ultimate Invader; The Undecided; U-Turn; The Waitabits; The Man Who (Almost) Never Was (by Mike Resnick))
(no UK paperback) 

Darker Tides: The Weird Tales of Eric Frank Russell, ed. John Pelan & Phil Stephensen-Payne. Seattle, Midnight House, Jul 2006.
(contains: The Sin of Hyacinth Peuch; With a Blunt Instrument; The Ponderer; Rhythm of the Rats; Me and My Shadow; Displaced Person; Vampire from the Void; Hell's Bells; The Big Shot; Appointment at Noon; Take a Seat; Bitter End; Down, Rover, Down; A Divvil with the Women; I Hear You Calling; I'm a Stranger Here Myself; A Matter of Instinct; It's in the Blood; Poor Dead Fool; Seat of Oblivion; Sole Solution; Storm Warning; This One's on Me; Wisel)
(no UK paperback)

NON-FICTION

Great World Mysteries. London: Dobson, 1957; New York: Roy, 1957
Mayflower, 1962, 160pp.
Mayflower-Dell, 1967, 160pp, 3/6. Cover by Victor Kalin

The Rabble Rousers. Evanstown, Ill.: Regency, 1963.
(no UK paperback)

The ABZ of Scouse: How to Talk Proper in Liverpool Vol. 2 (as Linacre Lane). Liverpool, Scouse Press, 1966; also as Lern Yerself Scouse Volume 2: The ABZ of Scouse, Liverpool, Scouse Press, n.d..
Scouse Press, 1966. 
---- [later ed.], n.d., 121pp, £1.95. Cover: design

(* That last one really is Eric Frank Russell writing in the guise of Linacre Lane, Bachelor of Scouse; I believe it only came to light when some of Russell's papers were donated to the Science Fiction Foundation by his daughter in 1994.)

(* Originally published 20 July 2008.)