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Our Lady of Darkness

Our Lady of Darkness (1977) is an urban fantasy novel by American author Fritz Leiber. The novel is distinguished for three elements: the heavily autobiographical elements in the story, the use of Jungian psychology that informs the narrative, and its detailed description of "megapolisomancy", a fictional occult science. It was originally published in shorter form as The Pale Brown Thing (Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January/February 1977).

Cover of the first edition, published by Berkley Books. Cover art by Richard M. Powers.

Plot edit

The story centers on Franz Westen, a recovering alcoholic and writer of weird tales, who lives in San Francisco.

The plot unfolds as Westen discovers an old journal belonging to Clark Ashton Smith, a real-life writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. In this journal, Smith discusses "paramentals", entities that feed off of human emotions and are drawn to urban environments. As Westen delves deeper, he learns about "megapolisomancy", a fictional occult science focusing on harnessing the supernatural forces present in large cities.

Westen begins to experience bizarre and terrifying occurrences. He sees mysterious figures on nearby rooftops and encounters eerie phenomena, suggesting the presence of supernatural forces in the city. The novel's climax involves Westen's confrontation with these forces, symbolized by the entity "Our Lady of Darkness" – a powerful, ancient being connected to the history and fabric of San Francisco itself.

Autobiographical elements edit

Like the protagonist Franz Westen, Leiber was recovering from his wife's death a number of years previously and descending into alcoholism. Like the author, Westen is an amateur astronomer who is looking for ways to re-engage with the life around him, and he lives at the address (811 Geary St) where Leiber lived at the time. The novel is set in actual San Francisco locations, including Corona Heights and the Sutro Tower behind it. As late as 2012, fantasy fans could take a walking tour of the city that included all the novel's main locations. Several of the other characters are thinly disguised versions of people active in Bay Area fandom in the mid-1970s.

The novel mentions the authors Jack London, Ambrose Bierce and Clark Ashton Smith, who all lived part of their lives in San Francisco. The title is taken from Thomas De Quincey's Suspiria de Profundis, and references are also made to M. R. James's ghost stories, and to the work of fantasy/horror writers such as H.P. Lovecraft. These allusions add an element of metafiction to the story, making it in part an examination and description of horror and the imagination.

Jungian elements edit

Adding to the metafictional elements of the story are Leiber's frequent references to Jung's descriptions of the Anima (female self) and the Shadow (hidden self). These are elements that existed in Leiber's work nearly since the start of his career in the late 1930s, according to Bruce Byfield's Witches of the Mind: A Critical Study of Fritz Leiber. The main difference in Our Lady of Darkness is that, unlike much of his earlier works, the references to these figures are explicit, rather than implied, and at times supported by direct quotations.

The Pale Brown Thing edit

Our Lady of Darkness was originally serialised, in shorter form and with the title The Pale Brown Thing, over two issues of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (January/February 1977). The story was featured on the cover of the January issue with a painting by Ron Walotsky.[1]

Fritz Leiber maintained that the two texts "should be regarded as the same story told at different times".[2]

The Pale Brown Thing was reissued by Swan River Press in 2016 as a limited edition hardback. The cover by Jason Zerrillo is an homage to Walotsky's original artwork for F&SF.[3] The volume includes an introduction by Leiber's friend, the San Francisco poet Donald Sidney-Fryer, who was the basis for the character of Jaime Donaldus Byers.[4] It also includes a reprint of an essay by John Howard, "Story-telling Wonder-questing, Mortal Me: The Transformation of The Pale Brown Thing into Our Lady of Darkness", which examines the differences between The Pale Brown Thing and its later, lengthier incarnation.[5]

Reception edit

Our Lady of Darkness won the 1978 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.[6]

Richard A. Lupoff praised Our Lady of Darkness as "one of the scariest, most original, and most damnably convincing fantasy notions I've ever come across".[7]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "The FictionMags Index". Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  2. ^ "The Pale Brown Thing and a Dose of De Quincy". 14 July 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Fritz Leiber's 'The Pale Brown Thing'". 19 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  4. ^ "The Power of Friendship: An Interview with Donald Sidney-Fryer". Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Story-telling Wonder-questing, Mortal Me", Touchstones: Essays on the Fantastic, Alchemy Press, 2014.
  6. ^ "World Fantasy Award Winners". Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Lupoff's Book Week", Algol 28, 1977, p.53.

External links edit

  • "Fritz Leiber Reading an Extract from Our Lady of Darkness"
  • "Fritz Leiber Discussing the Composition and Background of The Pale Brown Thing"
  • "The Power of Friendship: An Interview with Donald Sidney-Fryer"
  • Perry Lake, "Stalking Our Lady of Darkness"
  • Rosemary Pardoe, "Our Lady of Darkness: A Jamesian Classic"

lady, darkness, 1977, urban, fantasy, novel, american, author, fritz, leiber, novel, distinguished, three, elements, heavily, autobiographical, elements, story, jungian, psychology, that, informs, narrative, detailed, description, megapolisomancy, fictional, o. Our Lady of Darkness 1977 is an urban fantasy novel by American author Fritz Leiber The novel is distinguished for three elements the heavily autobiographical elements in the story the use of Jungian psychology that informs the narrative and its detailed description of megapolisomancy a fictional occult science It was originally published in shorter form as The Pale Brown Thing Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction January February 1977 Cover of the first edition published by Berkley Books Cover art by Richard M Powers Contents 1 Plot 2 Autobiographical elements 3 Jungian elements 4 The Pale Brown Thing 5 Reception 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksPlot editThe story centers on Franz Westen a recovering alcoholic and writer of weird tales who lives in San Francisco The plot unfolds as Westen discovers an old journal belonging to Clark Ashton Smith a real life writer of fantasy horror and science fiction In this journal Smith discusses paramentals entities that feed off of human emotions and are drawn to urban environments As Westen delves deeper he learns about megapolisomancy a fictional occult science focusing on harnessing the supernatural forces present in large cities Westen begins to experience bizarre and terrifying occurrences He sees mysterious figures on nearby rooftops and encounters eerie phenomena suggesting the presence of supernatural forces in the city The novel s climax involves Westen s confrontation with these forces symbolized by the entity Our Lady of Darkness a powerful ancient being connected to the history and fabric of San Francisco itself Autobiographical elements editLike the protagonist Franz Westen Leiber was recovering from his wife s death a number of years previously and descending into alcoholism Like the author Westen is an amateur astronomer who is looking for ways to re engage with the life around him and he lives at the address 811 Geary St where Leiber lived at the time The novel is set in actual San Francisco locations including Corona Heights and the Sutro Tower behind it As late as 2012 fantasy fans could take a walking tour of the city that included all the novel s main locations Several of the other characters are thinly disguised versions of people active in Bay Area fandom in the mid 1970s The novel mentions the authors Jack London Ambrose Bierce and Clark Ashton Smith who all lived part of their lives in San Francisco The title is taken from Thomas De Quincey s Suspiria de Profundis and references are also made to M R James s ghost stories and to the work of fantasy horror writers such as H P Lovecraft These allusions add an element of metafiction to the story making it in part an examination and description of horror and the imagination Jungian elements editAdding to the metafictional elements of the story are Leiber s frequent references to Jung s descriptions of the Anima female self and the Shadow hidden self These are elements that existed in Leiber s work nearly since the start of his career in the late 1930s according to Bruce Byfield s Witches of the Mind A Critical Study of Fritz Leiber The main difference in Our Lady of Darkness is that unlike much of his earlier works the references to these figures are explicit rather than implied and at times supported by direct quotations The Pale Brown Thing editOur Lady of Darkness was originally serialised in shorter form and with the title The Pale Brown Thing over two issues of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction January February 1977 The story was featured on the cover of the January issue with a painting by Ron Walotsky 1 Fritz Leiber maintained that the two texts should be regarded as the same story told at different times 2 The Pale Brown Thing was reissued by Swan River Press in 2016 as a limited edition hardback The cover by Jason Zerrillo is an homage to Walotsky s original artwork for F amp SF 3 The volume includes an introduction by Leiber s friend the San Francisco poet Donald Sidney Fryer who was the basis for the character of Jaime Donaldus Byers 4 It also includes a reprint of an essay by John Howard Story telling Wonder questing Mortal Me The Transformation of The Pale Brown Thing into Our Lady of Darkness which examines the differences between The Pale Brown Thing and its later lengthier incarnation 5 Reception editOur Lady of Darkness won the 1978 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel 6 Richard A Lupoff praised Our Lady of Darkness as one of the scariest most original and most damnably convincing fantasy notions I ve ever come across 7 See also editFalse document Fritz Leiber Kult a role playing game with some similar ideas on the quirks of big cities GeomancyReferences edit The FictionMags Index Retrieved 27 June 2020 The Pale Brown Thing and a Dose of De Quincy 14 July 2016 Retrieved 27 June 2020 Fritz Leiber s The Pale Brown Thing 19 June 2016 Retrieved 27 June 2020 The Power of Friendship An Interview with Donald Sidney Fryer Retrieved 27 June 2020 Story telling Wonder questing Mortal Me Touchstones Essays on the Fantastic Alchemy Press 2014 World Fantasy Award Winners Retrieved 27 June 2020 Lupoff s Book Week Algol 28 1977 p 53 External links edit Fritz Leiber Reading an Extract from Our Lady of Darkness Fritz Leiber Discussing the Composition and Background of The Pale Brown Thing The Power of Friendship An Interview with Donald Sidney Fryer Perry Lake Stalking Our Lady of Darkness Rosemary Pardoe Our Lady of Darkness A Jamesian Classic Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Our Lady of Darkness amp oldid 1197218237, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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