Fritz Leiber facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fritz Leiber
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Leiber in 1977
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| Born | Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. December 24, 1910 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | September 5, 1992 (aged 81) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Period | 1934–1992 |
| Genre | Fantasy, horror, science fiction |
| Notable works | Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series, The Big Time |
| Spouse |
Jonquil Stephens
(m. 1936; died 1969)Margo Skinner
(m. 1992) |
| Children | Justin Leiber |
| Parents | Fritz Leiber (father) |
Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. (born December 24, 1910 – died September 5, 1992) was an American writer. He wrote exciting stories in the genres of fantasy, horror, and science fiction.
Leiber is known as one of the "fathers" of sword and sorcery fiction. This type of fantasy story features brave heroes, magic, and thrilling adventures. Other famous writers like Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock also helped create this genre.
Contents
Life Story of Fritz Leiber
Fritz Leiber was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 24, 1910. His parents, Fritz Leiber and Virginia Bronson Leiber, were both actors. For a while, Fritz Jr. thought about becoming an actor too. He even toured with his parents' Shakespeare theater company in 1928.
After touring, he went to the University of Chicago. He studied psychology and biology and graduated with honors in 1932. He also briefly studied to become a minister.
From 1933 to 1934, he continued his studies in philosophy. During this time, he also acted with his parents' company. He appeared in a few movies, like Camille (1936) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939).
In 1936, Leiber started writing letters to another famous writer, H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft encouraged Leiber and helped him develop his writing style. Leiber's first story, "Two Sought Adventure," was published in 1939. This story introduced his most famous characters, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.
Leiber married Jonquil Stephens on January 16, 1936. Their son, Justin Leiber, who also became a writer, was born in 1938. From 1937 to 1941, Leiber worked as a writer for an encyclopedia.
In 1941, his family moved to California. Leiber taught speech and drama at Occidental College. During World War II, he worked for Douglas Aircraft, inspecting planes. He continued to write and publish stories during the war.
After the war, the family moved back to Chicago. Leiber worked as an editor for Science Digest magazine from 1945 to 1956. During this time, he wrote many great science fiction and fantasy stories.
In 1958, the Leibers returned to Los Angeles. By then, he could write full-time and support his family with his stories.
Sadly, Jonquil died in 1969. After her death, Leiber moved to San Francisco. He lived a simple life in the city, enjoying dining out, movies, and travel. Later in his life, he received money from TSR, Inc., the company that made Dungeons & Dragons. They had used his Fafhrd and Gray Mouser characters in their games, which helped him live comfortably.
In 1977, he wrote a fantasy novel called Our Lady of Darkness. It was set in modern-day San Francisco and was about a writer dealing with his wife's death.
In 1992, the last year of his life, Leiber married Margo Skinner. She was a journalist and poet who had been his friend for many years. Fritz Leiber died a few weeks later from a stroke.
Leiber's Connection to Theater
Because his parents were famous Shakespearean actors, Leiber loved the stage. He often wrote about theater and actors in his stories. For example, his novel A Specter is Haunting Texas has an actor as its main character.
Even his science fiction novel, The Big Time, feels like a play. The story is about a war across the universe, but all the action happens in a small, isolated space. This space is like a theater stage, with only a few characters. This shows how much theater influenced his writing.
Fritz Leiber in Films
There can be some confusion between Fritz Leiber Jr. and his father, Fritz Leiber Sr. His father was also an actor and appeared in many films. Sometimes, people mistakenly think Fritz Jr. played roles that his father actually did. For example, his father was the evil Inquisitor in the film The Sea Hawk (1940).
Fritz Leiber Jr. did have some small roles in films. You can see him briefly in the 1936 film Camille. He also had a small part as a geologist in the horror film Equinox (1970). In a later version of Equinox, his speaking parts were cut out. He also appeared in a 1979 documentary called The Bermuda Triangle.
Fritz Leiber's Writing Style
Leiber was greatly influenced by other writers like H. P. Lovecraft and Robert Graves. Later in his career, he was also inspired by the ideas of Carl Jung, a famous psychologist. Jung's ideas about the "anima" (the female part of a man's personality) and the "shadow" (the hidden, darker parts of ourselves) often appeared in Leiber's stories.
Leiber loved cats, and they are often featured in his works. For example, Tigerishka is a cat-like alien in his novel The Wanderer. Leiber's "Gummitch" stories are about a smart kitten who wants to become human.
His early stories were inspired by Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. This is a shared world of cosmic horror created by Lovecraft. Leiber's story "The Sunken Land" (1942) is considered one of the best early stories based on this mythos. Leiber also wrote essays about Lovecraft, helping people understand his work better.
Leiber's first professional story, "Two Sought Adventure" (1939), introduced his most famous characters: Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. In 1943, his first two novels were published: Conjure Wife (a horror story) and Gather, Darkness! (a science fiction story).
His first book, Night's Black Agents, was a collection of short stories published in 1947. It included horror tales and early Fafhrd and Gray Mouser adventures.
In 1958, his novel The Big Time won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. This is a very important award in science fiction. His novel The Wanderer (1964) also won the Hugo Award. The Wanderer is about an artificial planet that appears near Earth, causing huge disasters.
Leiber continued to win awards in the 1960s and 1970s. His short stories "Ship of Shadows" (1969) and "Ill Met in Lankhmar" (1970) won the Hugo Award for Best Novella. "Gonna Roll the Bones" (1967) won both the Hugo and Nebula Award for Best Novelette.
His novel Our Lady of Darkness (1977) won the World Fantasy Award—Novel. This story explores the idea of cities having their own magical beings.
Leiber also wrote many acclaimed short stories in the horror genre. These include "The Smoke Ghost" and "The Girl With the Hungry Eyes." He also wrote science fiction stories that made readers think, like "A Bad Day For Sales." This story questioned the famous Three Laws of Robotics by Isaac Asimov.
In 1975, Leiber was named the second Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy. The next year, he won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. He was also named the fifth SFWA Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1981. In 1988, he received the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement for his horror writing. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2001.
Leiber was a founding member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA). This was a group of Heroic fantasy authors. Leiber is even credited with inventing the term "sword and sorcery" for this type of fantasy story.
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Stories
Leiber's most famous creations are the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. He wrote these tales over 50 years. The first one, "Two Sought Adventure," appeared in 1939.
The stories are about two unlikely heroes who live in and around the city of Lankhmar. Fafhrd is a tall, strong barbarian, and the Gray Mouser is a small, quick thief. Leiber based Fafhrd on himself and the Gray Mouser on his friend, Harry Otto Fischer. They created these characters by exchanging letters in the 1930s.
These stories helped shape the "sword and sorcery" genre. They introduced many ideas and themes that are now common in fantasy.
Some Fafhrd and Mouser stories won awards. "Ill Met in Lankhmar" (1970) won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella. Leiber's last major work, The Knight and Knave of Swords (1991), finished the series.
The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories have influenced other writers and even games. For example, the characters were part of the original design for the 1976 board game Lankhmar by TSR, Inc., the company that created Dungeons & Dragons.
Selected Works by Fritz Leiber
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series
- Two Sought Adventure (1958)
- Swords and Deviltry (1970)
- Swords Against Death (1970)
- Swords in the Mist (1968)
- Swords Against Wizardry (1968)
- The Swords of Lankhmar (1968)
- Swords and Ice Magic (1977)
- The Knight and Knave of Swords (1988)
Novels and Novellas
- Conjure Wife (1943) – A professor discovers his wife uses magic.
- Gather, Darkness! (1943) – A story about a future world ruled by scientists.
- The Big Time (1961) – A Hugo Award-winning novel about a war that changes history.
- The Wanderer (1964) – A Hugo Award-winning novel about a mysterious planet causing global disasters.
- Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966) – A novel based on a movie script.
- A Specter Is Haunting Texas (1969)
- Our Lady of Darkness (1977) – A World Fantasy Award-winning novel set in San Francisco.
Collections of Short Stories
- Night's Black Agents (1947)
- The Best of Fritz Leiber (1974)
- The Worlds of Fritz Leiber (1976)
- Heroes and Horrors (1978)
- The Ghost Light (1984) – Includes stories and an essay about his life.
- The Leiber Chronicles (1990) – A large collection of his short stories.
- Gummitch and Friends (1992) – Stories about cats.
Film Adaptations of His Work
His novel Conjure Wife has been made into movies several times under different titles:
- Weird Woman (1944)
- Night of the Eagle (also known as Burn, Witch, Burn!) (1962)
- Witches' Brew (1980)
His short story "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" was filmed in 1995. It was also adapted for the TV show Night Gallery in 1970. Another of his stories, "The Dead Man," was also adapted for Night Gallery.
Images for kids
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A robot, representing science fiction.
