Miriam Allen deFord (August 21, 1888 – February 22, 1975) was an American writer best known for her mysteries and science fiction. During the 1920s, she wrote for a number of left-wing magazines including ''
The Masses
''The Masses'' was a graphically innovative magazine of socialist politics published monthly in the United States from 1911 until 1917, when federal prosecutors brought charges against its editors for conspiring to obstruct conscription. It was ...
'', ''
The Liberator'', and the ''
Federated Press Bulletin''. Her short story, ''A Death in the Family'', appeared on the second season, episode #2, segment one, of ''
Night Gallery
''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, ''The Twilight Zone ...
''.
Biography
Born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, deFord studied at
Wellesley College and
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
. She later studied at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
.
[Eric Leif Davin]
''Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926-1965''
Lexington Books, Lanham, MD (2006); , pp. 130, 378-79. She worked as a newspaper
reporter for a time. She later described herself as a "born feminist" and was active in the
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
movement before 1920. A campaigner and disseminator of
birth control information to women, she was a member of the
Socialist Party of America from 1919 to 1922.
Her feminist work is documented in ''From Parlor to Prison: Five American Suffragists Talk About Their Lives'', edited by Sherna B. Gluck. During the 1930s, deFord joined the
Federal Writers' Project and wrote the book ''They Were San Franciscans'' for the Project. Interviewed for the
League of American Writers pamphlet ''Writers Take Sides'' about the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
, deFord expressed strong support for the
Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
. She added, ''"I am unalterably and actively opposed to
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
,
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...
,
Hitlerism,
Hirohitoism, or whatever name may be applied to the monster."''
She spent perhaps the most energy in
mystery fiction and
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
. Hence, she did several anthologies in mystery and crime writing. In 1968, she wrote ''
The Real Bonnie and Clyde''.
She also wrote ''The Overbury Affair'', which involves events during the reign of
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
of Britain surrounding the murder of
Sir Thomas Overbury
Sir Thomas Overbury (baptized 1581 – 14 September 1613) was an English poet and essayist, also known for being the victim of a murder which led to a scandalous trial. His poem ''A Wife'' (also referred to as ''The Wife''), which depicted the ...
. For the latter work she received a 1961
Edgar Award from the
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City.
The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday.
It presents the Edgar Awa ...
for Best Fact Crime book. She worked for ''
Humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
'' magazine and she was one of the signers of the
Humanist Manifesto
''Humanist Manifesto'' is the title of three manifestos laying out a humanist worldview. They are the original '' Humanist Manifesto'' (1933, often referred to as Humanist Manifesto I), the ''Humanist Manifesto II'' (1973), and ''Humanism and I ...
.
However, in 1949, ''
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...
'' began with
Anthony Boucher
William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio d ...
as editor. Anthony Boucher wrote
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
and fantasy but also garnered attention in the mystery field as well. This gave his magazine some cross-over appeal to mystery writers like deFord. Much of her science fiction first appeared in Boucher's magazine. Her stories there dealt with themes like nuclear devastation, alienation, and changing sexual roles. Her two collections are ''Elsewhere, Elsewhen, Elsehow'' and ''Xenogenesis''. She edited an anthology of stories mixing science fiction with mystery called ''Space, Time, and Crime''.
DeFord was also a passionate Fortean, a follower of
Charles Fort
Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold ...
, and did fieldwork for him. deFord is mentioned in Fort's book ''Lo!'' Shortly before her death in 1975, Fortean writer
Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman (born July 12, 1947) is an American cryptozoologist who has written over 40 books on a number of topics, including the pseudoscience and subculture of cryptozoology.
Early life
Coleman was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and grew up ...
visited deFord and interviewed her about her earlier interactions with Fort and her trips to
Chico, California
Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...
, to investigate the case of a
poltergeist rock-thrower on Fort's behalf.
Death
DeFord died February 22, 1975, aged 86, at her longtime home, the
Ambassador Hotel at 55 Mason Street in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
.
Posthumous
In 2008,
The Library of America
The Library of America (LOA) is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature. Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LOA has published over 300 volumes by authors rang ...
selected deFord's story of the
Leopold and Loeb
Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. (November 19, 1904 – August 29, 1971) and Richard Albert Loeb (; June 11, 1905 – January 28, 1936), usually referred to collectively as Leopold and Loeb, were two wealthy students at the University of Chicago ...
trial for inclusion in its two-century retrospective of American True Crime.
Marriages
DeFord's first marriage was to Armistead Collier in 1915. The couple divorced in 1920.
She was married to
Maynard Shipley from 1921 until his death in June 1934.
['' Dangerous Visions'', pg. 115. (2011)]
Bibliography
Anthologies
Science Fiction:
* ''Xenogenesis'' (1969)
* ''Elsewhere, Elsewhen, Elsehow'' (1971)
Mystery:
* ''The Theme is Murder'' (1967)
* ''La Maison fantastique'' (1988)
Anthologies containing stories by Miriam Allen deFord
* ''The Lyrics West, Volume 1'' (1921)
* ''The Queen's Awards: Series 4 - prize-winning detective stories from EQMM (1949)
* ''Star Science Fiction Stories, No. 4'' (1958)
* ''Star Science Fiction Stories, No. 6'' (1959)
* ''The Lethal Sex: The 1959 Anthology of the Mystery Writers of America'' (1959)
* ''Tales for a Rainy Night: 14th Mystery Writers of America Anthology'' (1961)
* ''The Fifth Galaxy Reader'' (1962)
* ''The Quality of Murder: 300 Years of True Crime'' (1962)
* ''Rogue Dragon'' (1965)
* ''Alfred Hitchcock's Monster Museum: Twelve Shuddery Stories for Daring Young Readers'' (1965)
* ''Best Detective Stories of the Year: 20th Annual Collection'' (1965)
* ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories Not For the Nervous'' (1965)
* ''
Dangerous Visions'' (1967)
* ''Gentle Invaders'' (1969)
* ''Crime Prevention in the 30th Century'' (1969)
* ''Boucher's Choicest : A Collection of Anthony Boucher's Favorites from Best Detective Stories of the Year'' (1969)
* ''With Malice Toward All'' (1970)
* ''Worlds of Maybe: 7 Stories of Science Fiction'' (1970)
* ''15 Science Fiction Stories'' - a subset of ''Dangerous Visions'' reprinted in German (1970)
* ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Scream Along With Me'' (1970)
* ''New Dimensions 2: Eleven Original Science Fiction Stories'' (1972)
* ''Two Views of Wonder'' (1973)
* ''
The Alien Condition'' (1973)
* ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents: More Stories Not For the Nervous'' (1973)
* ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories to be Read With the Lights On'' (1973)
* ''Omega'' (1974)
* ''Strange Bedfellows'' (1974)
* ''The Venus Factor'' (1977)
* ''Terrors, Torments and Traumas'' (reprint, 1978)
* ''Nature's Revenge: Eerie Stories of Revolt Against the Human Race'' (1978)
* ''Spirits, Spooks and Other Sinister Creatures'' (reprint, 1984)
* ''Killer Couples: Terrifying True Stories of the World's Deadliest Duos" (1987)
* ''Trois saigneurs de la nuit'' - (Vol. 3, 1988)
* ''The Lady Killers: Famous Women Murderers'' (1990)
* ''New Eves: Science Fiction About the Extraordinary Women of Today and Tomorrow'' (1994)
* ''Women Resurrected: Stories from Women Science Fiction Writers of the 50s'' (2011)
* ''Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives: Stories from the Trailblazers of Domestic Suspense'' (2013)
Magazines containing stories by Miriam Allen deFord
* ''
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine'' (March, 1971)
* ''
Amazing Stories
''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...
'' (January, 1962; March, 1972)
* ''
Analog
Analog or analogue may refer to:
Computing and electronics
* Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable
** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals
*** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...
'' (December, 1972; December, 1974)
* ''The Best Science Fiction from The World of Tomorrow'' (No. 2, 1964)
* ''Bestseller Mystery Magazine'' (November, 1958; July, 1959)
* ''Beyond Fantasy Fiction'' (March, 1954)
* ''
The Dude'' (November, 1961)
* ''
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fict ...
'' (November, 1946; March, 1947; May, 1948; November, 1950; October, 1952; August, 1953; May, 1954; December, 1956; October, 1957; December, 1958; March, 1963; July, 1964; October, 1964; March, 1965; March, 1966; May, 1966; November, 1966; July, 1967; September, 1968; May, 1972; August, 1972; May, 1973; August, 1973; November, 1973; February, 1975)
* ''Famous Science Fiction'' (Vol. 2, No. 2,
hole number 8 Fall, 1968)
* ''
Fantastic
The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces.
Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, charac ...
'' (January, 1961)
* ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (Vol. 31., No. 6, December 1966)
* ''Fiction'' - French magazine (No. 148, Mars, 1966)
* ''
Galaxy Science Fiction
''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...
'' (No. 75, 3/6
arch, 1952br>
March, 1955April, 1958December, 1961 October, 1964; August, 1967; November, 1968)
* ''Gamma'' (Vol. 2, No.1, 1964)
* ''
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.'' (December, 1966)
* ''
The Haldeman-Julius Monthly'' (January, 1927)
* ''
If: Worlds of Science Fiction'' (November, 1959; October, 1965; February, 1966)
* ''
Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher a ...
'' (August, 1951; October, 1952; January, 1954; August, 1954; May, 1955; February, 1956; May, 1956; November, 1956; December, 1956; June, 1958; December, 1958; May, 1959; March, 1960; July, 1960; December, 1960; June, 1962; April, 1963; September, 1964; February, 1965; July, 1965; February, 1966; March, 1966; May, 1966; December, 1966; March, 1968; April, 1968; October, 1969; November, 1969; March, 1970; October, 1970; January, 1972; May, 1973)
* ''
Mercury Mystery Magazine'' (April, 1958; February, 1959)
* ''
Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine'' (October, 1972)
* ''
Modern Age: A Quarterly Review'' (Vol. 11, 1966–67)
* ''
Prairie Schooner
''Prairie Schooner'' is a literary magazine published quarterly at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with the cooperation of UNL's English Department and the University of Nebraska Press. It is based in Lincoln, Nebraska and was first publish ...
'' (Summer 1949, Volume XXIII)
* ''
The Realist
''The Realist'' was a Humor magazine, magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of Mad (magazine), ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and ...
'' (No. 41, June, 1963)
* ''The Saint Mystery Magazine (May1961;''May, 1963; January, 1965; December, 1965; August, 1966; May, 1967; August, 1967)
* ''
The Saturday Review of Literature
''Saturday Review'', previously ''The Saturday Review of Literature'', was an American weekly magazine established in 1924. Norman Cousins was the editor from 1940 to 1971. Under Norman Cousins, it was described as "a compendium of reportage, es ...
'' (July 25, 1942)
* ''SFWA Forum No. 33'' - Science Fiction Writers of America (April, 1974)
* ''Science Fiction Yearbook'' (No. 2, 1968)
* ''
Scribner's Magazine
''Scribner's Magazine'' was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. ''Scribner's Magazine'' was the second magazine out of the Scribner's firm, after the publication of ' ...
'' (Vol. 94, No. 5, Nov. 1933)
* ''Shock Magazine'' (July, 1960)
* ''
Space Stories'' (October, 1952)
* ''
Startling Stories'' (July, 1952; October, 1952; December, 1952; Summer, 1955)
* ''True Crime Detective Magazine'' (Winter, 1953)
* ''
Venture Science Fiction
''Venture Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, first published from 1957 to 1958, and revived for a brief run in 1969 and 1970. Ten issues were published of the 1950s version, with another six in the second ru ...
'' (November, 1957; October, 1965)
* ''Worlds of Tomorrow'' (Vol. 1, No. 1, April, 1963; Vol. 2, No. 1, April, 1964)
Fact Crime/True Crime
* ''The Overbury Affair'' (1960)
* ''The Real Bonnie and Clyde'' (1968)
* ''The Real Ma Barker'' (1970)
Little Blue Book Series
* ''Little Blue Book No. 197: What Great Frenchwomen Learned About Love'' (1926)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 832: The Life and Poems of Catullus'' (1925)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 867: Cicero As Revealed in His Letters'' (1925)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 895: Astronomy for Beginners'' (1927)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 896: The Augustan Poets of Rome'' (1925) (editor)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 899: Rome As Viewed by Tacitus and Juvenal'' (1925)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 999: Latin Self-Taught'' (1926) (editor)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 1009: Typewriting Self-Taught'' (1926)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 1087: The Facts About Fascism'' (1926)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 1088: The Truth About Mussolini'' (1926)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 1174: How To Write Business Letters'' (1927)
* ''Little Blue Book No. 1847: The Meaning of All Common Given Names'' (1947)
Other
Author
* ''Love-Children: A Book of Illustrious Illegitimates'' (1931)
* ''Facts You Should Know About California'' (1941)
* ''California'' (1946)
* ''They Were San Franciscans'' (1947)
* ''Psychologist unretired: the life pattern of Lillien J. Martin'' (1948)
* ''Up-Hill All The Way: The Life of Maynard Shipley'' (1956)
* ''Stone Walls: Prisons from Fetters to Furloughs'' (1962)
* ''Penultimates'' (1962)
* ''Murderers Sane and Mad: Case Histories in the Motivation and Rationale of Murder'' (1965)
* ''Thomas Moore'' - Twayne's English Authors Series (1967)
Editor
* ''Space, Time and Crime'' (1964) - anthology of science fiction
References
Sources
''Index to Female Writers In Science Fiction, Fantasy & Utopia''''Domestic Suspense: Celebrating An Overlooked Generation of Female Suspense Writers''''Fantastic Fiction database: Miriam Allen deFord''''Site describing the French language anthology''
External links
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:DeFord, Miriam Allen
1888 births
1975 deaths
American humanists
American feminists
American socialists
American anti-fascists
American mystery writers
American science fiction writers
American women short story writers
Edgar Award winners
Writers from Philadelphia
Women science fiction and fantasy writers
Women mystery writers
American women novelists
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American women writers
20th-century American short story writers
Novelists from Pennsylvania