Marion Zimmer Bradley | |
---|---|
Born | Marion Eleanor Zimmer June 3, 1930 Albany, New York, U.S. |
Died | September 25, 1999 Berkeley, California, U.S. | (aged 69)
Pen name | Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, Lee Chapman |
Occupation | Novelist, editor |
Nationality | American |
Education | University of California, Berkeley |
Alma mater | Hardin-Simmons University (BA) |
Genre | Fantasy, science fiction, science fantasy, historical fantasy |
Notable works | The Mists of Avalon, the Darkover series |
Spouse |
Robert Alden Bradley
(m. 1949; div. 1964) |
Children | David Bradley, Moira Greyland, Mark Greyland |
Website | |
mzbworks |
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels, and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series. She was noted for the feminist perspective in her writing.
Bradley began writing at the age of 17 and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hardin-Simmons University. She co-founded the Society for Creative Anachronism in 1966. She also served as the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series. She was posthumously awarded the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement in 2000.
In 1990, Bradley's husband, Walter Breen, was arrested for child sexual abuse. Though Bradley remained popular during her lifetime, her reputation was posthumously marred. In 2014, 15 years after Bradley's death, her daughter Moira Greyland said that Bradley not only had been aware of Breen's child molestation activities but had also sexually abused her. In response to the allegations, the publisher of Bradley's digital backlist began donating all income from her e-books to the charity Save the Children. Several science fiction authors have since publicly condemned Bradley.