''Born of Man and Woman'' is the first collection of science fiction and
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and d ...
stories by
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.
He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science fictio ...
, published in hardcover by Chamberlain Press in 1954. It includes an introduction by
Robert Bloch. A truncated edition, dropping four stories, was published by
Bantam Books in 1955 as ''Third from the Sun''.
Contents
* "
Born of Man and Woman" (''
F&SF
''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 ...
'' 1950)
* "
Third from the Sun
"Third from the Sun" is episode 14 of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. It is based on a short story of the same name by Richard Matheson which first appeared in the first issue of the magazine ''Galaxy Science Ficti ...
" (
''Galaxy'' 1950)
* "Through Channels" (''F&SF'' 1951)
* "Lover, When You’re Near Me" (''Galaxy'' 1952)
* "SRL Ad" (''F&SF'' 1952)
* "Mad House" (
''Fantastic'' 1953)
* "F---" (''
Thrilling Wonder Stories
''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stor ...
'' 1952)
* "Dear Diary" (original)
* "To Fit the Crime" (''Fantastic'' 1952)
* "Witch War" (''
Startling Stories'' 1951)
* "Return" (''Thrilling Wonder Stories'' 1951)
* "Dress of White Silk" (''F&SF'' 1951)
* "Full Circle" (''
Fantastic Universe
''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishin ...
'' 1953)
* "Disappearing Act" (''F&SF'' 1953)
* "The Wedding" (''
Beyond Fantasy Fiction
''Beyond Fantasy Fiction'' was a US fantasy fiction magazine edited by H. L. Gold, with only ten issues published from 1953 to 1955. The last two issues carried the cover title of ''Beyond Fiction'', but the publication's name for copyright purp ...
'' 1953)
* "Shipshape Home" (''Galaxy'' 1952)
* "The Traveller" (original)
"F---" was originally published as "The Foodlegger".
Reception
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reviewer
J. Francis McComas characterized Matheson as "an established producer of the violently disturbing" and described the "scintillating" collection as "a stimulating look at a genuine artist at work."
P. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic.
Life
Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...
, noting that all the stories had been relatively recently published, praised Matheson as "one of the best of the newer writers."
["The Reference Library", '' Astounding Science Fiction'', January 1955, p.153]
References
1954 short story collections
American short story collections
Science fiction short story collections
Works by Richard Matheson
{{1950s-sf-story-collection-stub