Seabury Quinn
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Seabury Grandin Quinn (also known as Jerome Burke; December 1889 – December 24, 1969) was an American government lawyer, journalist, and
pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...
author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
, most famous for his stories of the
occult detective Occult detective fiction is a subgenre of detective fiction that combines the tropes of the main genre with those of supernatural, fantasy and/or horror fiction. Unlike the traditional detective who investigates murder and other common crimes ...
Jules de Grandin Jules de Grandin is a fictional occult detective that, from 1925-1951, starred in over 90 short stories by Seabury Quinn in the pulp magazine anthology series ''Weird Tales''. In the pages of Weird Tales, Quinn also authored a serialized novel fe ...
, published in ''
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 ...
''."Quinn, Seabury" by
Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...
in
David Pringle David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of ''Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective whic ...
, ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers''. London : St. James Press, 1998, (pp. 466-7).


Biography

Seabury Quinn was born and lived in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
in 1889. In 1910 Quinn graduated from the law school of the
National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...
and was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar. Quinn served in the Army in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After his service he became editor of a group of trade papers in New York, where he taught medical jurisprudence and wrote technical articles and pulp magazine fiction. His first published work was "The Law of the Movies", in ''The Motion Picture Magazine'', December 1917. (His story "Painted Gold" may have been written earlier.) "Demons of the Night" was published in ''Detective Story Magazine'' on March 19, 1918, followed by "Was She Mad?" on March 25, 1918. He published "The Stone Image" in 1919. He introduced Jules de Grandin as a character in 1925 (taking the character's surname from his own middle name), and continued writing stories about him until 1951. The longest of the de Grandin stories is the 1932 novel-length story ''The Devil's Bride'', strongly influenced by
Robert W. Chambers Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories titled '' The King in Yellow'', published in 1895. Life Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York, t ...
' 1920 novel ''The Slayer of Souls''. In 1937 he returned to Washington to represent a chain of trade journals, and there subsequently became a government lawyer for the duration of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He alternated between law and journalism all his life. He published over five hundred short stories. His first book, ''
Roads A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
'' (a new origin for
Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
, drawn from the original Christian legends), was published by
Arkham House Arkham House is an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which had pr ...
in 1948. Ten of the Jules de Grandin stories were collected in ''The Phantom Fighter'' (Mycroft & Moran, an imprint of Arkham House), 1966. A broader selection of the stories, including the novel ''The Devil's Bride'', was issued in a six-volume
Popular Library Popular Library was a New York paperback book company established in 1942 by Leo Margulies and Ned Pines, who at the time were major pulp magazine and newspaper publishers. The company's logo of a pine tree was a tribute to Pines, and another ...
paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
edition in 1967–77. A three-volume omnibus reportedly including all the de Grandin stories was issued by Battered Silicon Dispatch Box in 2001. Although the De Grandin stories were enormously popular on their initial publication, modern critics tend to regard them as the weakest part of Quinn's work, with
Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...
describing the De Grandin stories "as indeed rather undistinguished", claiming they are full of stereotyped characters and poorly resolved plots. Quinn wrote several non-De Grandin tales in the 1940s and 1950s; Stableford states Quinn's "best stories here are ironically perverted love stories", such as "The Globe of Memories" (1937) and "Glamour" (1939). His writing was secondary to his career as a lawyer specializing in mortuary jurisprudence. He taught this subject at mortuary schools for many years, and for some 15 years was the editor of ''Casket & Sunnyside'', a leading trade journal. His Jerome Burke stories are still published in the ''Dodge''
embalming Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...
magazine. Of his professional work, only two books were published. The first was ''A Syllabus of Mortuary Jurisprudence'', published in book form in 1933 by Clement Williams of Kansas City, Kansas, with a foreword by C. A. Renouard (of the Renouard School of Embalming) and Clement Williams (of the Clement Williams School of Embalming). This was distilled from a lecture he gave in 1914. The text was extant as early as least 1924 / 1925, being serialized in ''Casket and Sunnyside''. Quinn became editor of ''Casket and Sunnyside'' in December 1925. The second was ''An Encyclopedic Law Glossary For Funeral Directors and Embalmers'', published by the Williams Institute of Mortuary Science, Kansas City 1940, with an introduction by Quinn, dated January 1940. This had a series of definitions of terms that had puzzled his students. Besides contributing to the then ''De-Ce-Co Magazine'', later the ''Dodge Magazine'', for the Dodge Chemical Co, of
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, Quinn wrote articles for ''The American Funeral Director'' and other trade journals. His Jerome Burke material, not necessarily in sequence, is available in ''This I Remember: Memoirs of a Funeral Director'', published by the
Battered Silicon Dispatch Box The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box (BSDB) is an independent, Canadian literary publisher, founded in 1993 by George A. Vanderburgh. Based in Shelburne, Ontario, and in Sauk City, Wisconsin, the company is headed by George Vanderburgh. The press i ...
, with a foreword by Arnold Dodge. Quinn was a contemporary of Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and
Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...
.
Mary Elizabeth Counselman Mary Elizabeth Counselman (November 19, 1911 – November 13, 1995) was an American writer of short stories and poetry. Biography Mary Elizabeth Counselman was born on November 19, 1911, in Birmingham, Alabama. She began writing poetry as a ...
was a friend of Quinn's and wrote a tribute to him after he died.
Mary Elizabeth Counselman Mary Elizabeth Counselman (November 19, 1911 – November 13, 1995) was an American writer of short stories and poetry. Biography Mary Elizabeth Counselman was born on November 19, 1911, in Birmingham, Alabama. She began writing poetry as a ...
, "In Loving Tribute: I Remember Seabury".''Etchings and Odysseys'' No. 2, pp.17-18. 1983.
Quinn's posthumously published novel ''Alien Flesh'' (1977) is a sexually explicit erotic fantasy about a male Egyptologist who has a magical
sex change Sex change is a natural or artificial process in which an individual's sex is changed. Sex change may also refer to: Biology and medicine *Sex reassignment therapy *Sex reassignment surgery *Sequential hermaphroditism, a phenomenon whereby some ...
into a beautiful young woman. It has been described as a "bold and striking celebration of sexual confusion" in the style of
Pierre Louÿs Pierre Louÿs (; 10 December 1870 – 4 June 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who sought to "express pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection". ...
. It was illustrated by
Stephen Fabian Stephen Emil Fabian Sr. is an American artist. Career Fabian specializes in science fiction and fantasy illustration and cover art for books and magazines. Fabian also produced artwork for TSR's ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game from 1986 to 1995, p ...
.


Recent publications

''Night Creatures'', a collection of stories by Quinn, edited by Peter Ruber and Joseph Wrzos for
Ash-Tree Press Ash-Tree Press is a Canadian company that publishes supernatural and horror literature. The press has reprinted notable collections of ghostly stories by such writers as R. H. Malden, A. N. L. Munby, L. T. C. Rolt, Margery Lawrence, and El ...
appeared in (2003). ''Demons of the Night'', another collection of his stories, was published by Black Dog Books, of Normal, Illinois. Edited by Gene Christie, it contains his early stories. It has two of the "Major Sturdevant and his Washington Nights' Entertainment series", subtitled "Stories of the Secret Service", and two more featuring Professor Forrester, another amateur detector of crimes. It also contains one of the most complete bibliographies of Quinn yet published. ''Someday I'll Kill You!'', was published by Black Dog Books, of Normal, Illinois. Edited by Gene Christie, it contains all of Quinn's non-series stories published outside of Weird Tales between 1925 and 1963. All of the Jules deGrandin stories were reprinted in 5 hardcover volumes in 2018 & 2019 by Night Shade Books. A facsimile of the 1948 Arkham House edition of "Roads" was published 2017 by Shadowridge Press.


References


External links


Biographical information
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Seabury 1889 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American novelists American erotica writers American fantasy writers American horror writers American male novelists American science fiction writers Pulp fiction writers Writers from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American lawyers National University School of Law alumni