Jirel of Joiry is a fictional character created by American writer

C. L. Moore Catherine Lucille Moore (January 24, 1911 – April 4, 1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, who first came to prominence in the 1930s writing as C. L. Moore. She was among the first women to write in the science fiction and ...

, who appeared in a series of

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...

stories published first in the

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

horror/

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

magazine ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, prin ...

''. Jirel is the proud, tough, arrogant and beautiful ruler of her own domain — apparently somewhere in

medieval France The Kingdom of France in the Middle Ages (roughly, from the 10th century to the middle of the 15th century) was marked by the fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and West Francia (843–987); the expansion of royal control by the House of C ...

. Her adventures continually involve her in dangerous brushes with the

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

. These stories are among the first to show the influence of Robert E. Howard on sword and sorcery; they also introduced a female protagonist to the genre.

Stories and collections

Moore's Jirel stories include the following: * "Black God's Kiss" (October 1934) * "Black God's Shadow" (December 1934) * "Jirel Meets Magic" (July 1935) * "The Dark Land" (January 1936) * "Quest of the Starstone" (November 1937), with

Henry Kuttner Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Early life Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and Amelia Bush (c. 1834–1911), the ...

* "Hellsgarde" (April 1939) These stories, except for "Quest of the Starstone", appear in the collection ''Jirel of Joiry'' (1969), and in the Gollancz

Fantasy Masterworks Fantasy Masterworks is a series of British paperbacks intended to comprise "some of the greatest, most original, and most influential fantasy ever written", and claimed by its publisher Millennium (an imprint of Victor Gollancz) to be "the books whi ...

compendium ''Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams'' (2002). All six appear in a collected edition under

Paizo Publishing Paizo Inc. (originally Paizo Publishing.) is an American role-playing game publishing company based in Redmond, Washington, best known for the tabletop role-playing game ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder''. The company's name is derived ...

's "Planet Stories" imprint, compiled under the title ''Black God's Kiss''.

Reception

She has been described as one of the first strong female characters in the fantasy genre, and "the world's first female sword-and-sorcery hero". Despite being a female character, her masculine traits have led to her being analyzed in the context of

gender bending A gender bender is a person who dresses up and acts like the opposite sex. Bending expected gender roles may also be called a genderfuck. Gender bending may be political, stemming from the early identity politics movements of the 1960s and 19 ...

fiction.Toland, Jacqueline.

" Masters thesis., Florida Atlantic University, 2020.

In popular culture

"Jirel of Joiry", a 1985 Filk music, filk song by

Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar. Her Valdemar novels include i ...

and

Leslie Fish Leslie Fish is a folk musician, author, and anarchist political activist. Music Along with The DeHorn Crew, in 1976 she created the first commercial filk recording, ''Folk Songs for Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet''. Her second recording, ''Solar S ...

, appears on the album ''Murder, Mystery and Mayhem.''

Bibliography

* ** * ** collects all of the Jirel and (primary)

Northwest Smith Northwest Smith is a fictional character, and the hero of a series of stories by science fiction writer C. L. Moore. Story setting Smith is a spaceship pilot and smuggler who lives in an undisclosed future time when humanity has colonized the ...

stories ''except'' "Quest of the Starstone" * ** "Where No Man Had Gone Before"; introduction by

Suzy McKee Charnas Suzy McKee Charnas (October 22, 1939 – January 2, 2023) was an American novelist and short story writer, writing primarily in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. She won several awards for her fiction, including the Hugo Award, the N ...

** "Black God's Kiss" ** "Black God's Shadow" ** "Jirel Meets Magic" ** "The Dark Land" ** "Hellsgarde" ** "Quest of the Starstone", with

;

crossover story

References

External links

* {{commons category inline Characters in fantasy literature Characters in pulp fiction Fantasy short stories Female characters in literature Fictional swordfighters Fictional women soldiers and warriors Literary characters introduced in 1934 Sword and sorcery