''Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson'' is a 1993 story collection by American writer

George Alec Effinger George Alec Effinger (January 10, 1947 – April 27, 2002) was an American science fiction author, born in Cleveland, Ohio. Writing career Effinger was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 10, 1947. His father was a United States Navy vetera ...

, collecting all of his stories (up to 1993) about Maureen "Muffy" Birnbaum, a Jewish-American princess who is magically teleported to various

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

universes, and later recounts the tales to her best friend, "Bitsy" Spiegelman. Originally written on his own initiative, the character proved popular enough for Effinger to gain several requests from authors to have versions of their work visited by Muffy. In addition to satirizing and spoofing the various themes, the stories had a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

undertone, as Maureen dealt with the often

sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

reactions of the inhabitants of the worlds she met, struggled to find the

Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. Trends in the planet's portrayal have largely been influenced by advances in planetary science. It became the most popular celes ...

prince she had fallen in love with, and contrasted her adventures with the life of Bitsy, a

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which may include Parenting, caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; Sew ...

with an increasingly unhappy marriage. The collection had two editions: * Swan Press trade paper (June 1993, ) cover and interior illustrations by Peggy Ranson. * Guild America/ SFBC hardcover (Aug. 1994, ) cover and interior illustrations by Ken Kelly. : The hardcover reused the trade paper’s copyright page (i.e. date and illustration credit). The hardcover's jacket has the correct credit, and the correct date was advertised in ''Locus'' magazine.

{, class="wikitable" , + Details of included stories , - !style="text-align:left;", Title !style="text-align:left;", Story parodied !style="text-align:left;", Original publication !style="text-align:left;", Notes , - , "A Few Words from Muffy Birnbaum's Most Passionate Admirer" , , — , , this anthology , , Introduction by

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct mag ...

, - , "Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson" , ,

Barsoom Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The first Barsoom tale was serialized as ''Under the Moons of Mars'' in pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' from February to Jul ...

, , ''

Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiv ...

'', January 1982 , , , - , "Maureen Birnbaum at the Earth's Core" , , Pellucidar , , ''

'', February 1986 , , , - , "Maureen Birnbaum on the Art of War" , , Horseclans , , '' Friends of the Horseclans'' (1987) , , , - , "Maureen Birnbaum After Dark" , , " Nightfall" , , '' Foundation's Friends'' (1989) , , , - , "Maureen Birnbaum Goes Shopynge" , ,

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

, , '' The Fantastic Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1991) , , , - , "Maureen Birnbaum and the Saint Graal" , , Grail legend , , written for '' Grails: Visitations of the Night'' (1994) , , , - , "Maureen Birnbaum and the Looming Awfulness" , ,

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...

, , this anthology , , , - , "Maureen Birnbaum's Lunar Adventure" , , feghoot , ,

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction subgenre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of ex ...

program (1986) , , Revised for this anthology{{cite web , url=http://www.erbzine.com/mag64/6465.html , title=Maureen Birmbaum's Lunar Adventure, 1986 version , first=R. , last=Johnson , work=ERBzine , volume=6465 , publisher=Bill Hillman

References

Science fiction short story collections Feminist science fiction Birnbaum, Maureen Birnbaum, Maureen 1993 short story collections Adaptations of works by Edgar Rice Burroughs Pellucidar Modern Arthurian fiction Cthulhu Mythos anthologies Short stories set on the Moon Birnbaum, Maureen

Contents

Other stories

References