Barbara Hambly (born August 28, 1951) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

within the genres of

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, ...

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 ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

, and

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

. She is the author of the bestselling Benjamin January mystery series featuring a

free man of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also ...

, a musician and physician, in New Orleans in the antebellum years. She also wrote a novel about

Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (Birth name, née Todd; December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) was First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, in 1865. Mary Todd was born into a large and wealthy ...

. Her science fiction novels occur within an explicit

multiverse The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...

, as well as within previously existing settings (notably as established by ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' and ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'').

Early life and education

Hambly was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and grew up in Montclair,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Her parents, Everett Edward Hambly Jr. and Florence Elizabeth (Moraski) Hambly, are from Fall River, Massachusetts; and Scranton, Pennsylvania (respectively). She has an older sister, Mary Ann Sanders, and a younger brother, Everett Edward Hambly, III. In her early teens, after reading

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'', she affixed images of dragons to her bedroom door. She became interested in costumery from an early age, and has been a long-time participant in

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

activities. In the mid-1960s, the Hambly family spent a year in Australia. Hambly has a Master's in

Medieval History In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

. She completed her degree in 1975 and spent a year in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

as part of her studies.

Career

She chose work that allowed her time to write; all of her novels contain a biography paragraph with a litany of jobs: high school

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

, waitress, technical editor, all-night liquor store clerk, and Shotokan

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

instructor. Her first published novel was '' The Time of the Dark'' (1982). Hambly served as President of the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whi ...

from 1994 to 1996. Her works have been nominated for many awards in the

and

horror fiction Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defin ...

categories, winning a

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. Originally a poll ...

for Best Horror Novel '' Those Who Hunt the Night'' (1989) (released in the UK as ''Immortal Blood'') and the Lord Ruthven Award for fiction for its sequel, '' Traveling with the Dead'' (1996).

Marriage and personal life

Hambly was married for some years to

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 ...

, a science fiction writer. He died in 2002. She lives in Los Angeles. Hambly speaks freely of suffering from

seasonal affective disorder Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder subset in which people who typically have normal mental health throughout most of the year exhibit depressive symptoms at the same time each year. It is commonly, but not always, associated w ...

, which was undiagnosed for some time.

Themes within fantasy

Hambly's work has several themes. She has a penchant for unusual characters within the fantasy genre, such as the menopausal witch and reluctant scholar-lord in the ''Winterlands'' trilogy, or the

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

secret service agent in the vampire novels. Her writing is filled with rich descriptions and characters whose actions bear consequences for both their lives and relationships, suffusing her series with a sense of loss and regret. Hambly's characters suffer the pain of frustrated aspirations to a degree that is uncommon in most fantasy novels.Clute, J. & Grant, J. (1999). ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy''. Orbit: London (UK) Though using many standard clichés and plot devices of the fantasy genre, her works explore the ethical implications of the consequences of these devices, and what their effect is for the characters, were they real people. In avoiding the "...easy consolatory self-identification of genre fantasy" (p. 449) and refusing to let her work be guided more explicitly by conventions and the desires of her audience, Hambly may have missed out on more remunerative success and acclaim. Although magic exists in many of her settings, it is not used as an easy solution but follows rules and takes energy from the wizards. In the Darwath, Windrose, and Sun-Cross stories, unusual settings are justified as alternate universes. Hambly heavily researches her settings, either in person or through books, frequently drawing upon her degree in medieval history for background and depth.Review of Barbara Hambly as an author
, Future Fiction website

Bibliography

Benjamin January mysteries

This

historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves th ...

series begins with ''A Free Man of Color'' (1997) and features Benjamin January, a brilliant, classically educated, free colored surgeon and musician living in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

during the

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...

years of the 1830s. At the time, New Orleans had a large and prosperous population of free people of color. Born a slave, as his mother was enslaved, January was freed as a young child by his mother's lover, under the

plaçage Plaçage was a recognized extralegal system in French slave colonies of North America (including the Caribbean) by which ethnic European men entered into civil unions with non-Europeans of African, Native American and mixed-race descent. The term ...

system. Provided with an excellent education, he gained fluency in several classical and modern languages, and was thoroughly versed in the whole of classical Western learning and arts. He studied medicine in Paris, where he trained as a surgeon. He returned to Louisiana to escape the memory of his late wife, a woman from North Africa. As a free black in Louisiana, he cannot find work as a surgeon. He earns a modest living by his exceptional talent as a musician. # ''A Free Man of Color'' (1997) # ''Fever Season'' (1998) # ''Graveyard Dust'' (1999) # ''Sold Down the River'' (2000) # ''Die upon a Kiss'' (2001) # ''Wet Grave'' (2002) # ''Days of the Dead'' (2003) # ''Dead Water'' (2004) # ''Dead and Buried'' (2010) # ''The Shirt on His Back'' (2011) # ''Ran Away'' (2011) # ''Good Man Friday'' (2013) # ''Crimson Angel'' (2014) # ''Drinking Gourd'' (2016) # ''Murder in July'' (2017) # ''Cold Bayou'' (2018) # ''Lady of Perdition'' (2019) # ''House of the Patriarch'' (2020) # ''Death and Hard Cider'' (Hardcover – June 7, 2022)

Short stories

* "Libre" (2006, short story in ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'', November 2006, Salute to New Orleans issue. Available on Hambly's website.) * "There Shall Your Heart Be Also" (2007, short story in ''New Orleans Noir'', ed. Julie Smith. Available on Hambly's website.) * "A Time to Every Purpose Under Heaven" (2010, short story starring Rose and Dominique, and taking place while Benjamin is away (plot of ''The Shirt on His Back''). Available on Hambly's website.)

Historical fiction

* ''Search the Seven Hills'' riginally ''The Quirinal Hill Affair''(1983) * ''The Emancipator's Wife'' (2005; finalist for the Michael Shaara Prize for Excellence in a Civil War Novel, 2006) * ''Patriot Hearts'' (2007) * ''Homeland: A Novel'' (2009)

Abigail Adams Mysteries (written as Barbara Hamilton)

# ''The Ninth Daughter'' (2009) # ''A Marked Man'' (2010) # ''Sup with the Devil '' (2011)

Sherlock Holmes short story pastiches

# "The Adventure of the Antiquarian’s Niece" (2003, ''Shadows Over Baker Street'', ed. Michael Reaves & John Pelan, narrated by Dr. Watson) # "The Dollmaker of Marigold Walk" (2003, ''My Sherlock Holmes'', ed. Michael Kurland, narrated by Mrs. Mary Watson) # "The Lost Boy" (2008, ''Gaslight Grimoire'', ed. J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec, narrated by Mrs. Mary Watson) # "The Adventure of the Sinister Chinaman" (2010, ''Sherlock Holmes: Crossovers Casebook'', ed. Howard Hopkins, narrated by Dr. Watson)

Anne Steelyard: The Garden of Emptiness

# ''An Honorary Man'' (2008, graphic novel) # ''The Gate of Dreams and Starlight'' (2009, graphic novel) # ''A Thousand Waters'' (2011, graphic novel)

Darwath

#'' The Time of the Dark'' (1982) #'' The Walls of Air'' (1983) #'' The Armies of Daylight'' (1983) # ''Mother of Winter'' (1996; Locus Award nominee 1997) # ''Icefalcon's Quest'' (1998) # "Pretty Polly" (2010, original short story available on Hambly's website.)

Sun Wolf and Starhawk

# '' The Ladies of Mandrigyn'' (1984; Locus Award nominee, 1985) # '' The Witches of Wenshar'' (1987; Locus Award nominee, 1988) # ''The Unschooled Wizard'' (''The Ladies of Mandrigyn'' & ''The Witches of Wenshar'' omnibus; 1987) # ''The Dark Hand of Magic'' (1990) # "A Night with the Girls" (2010, an original short story available on Hambly's website) # "Fairest in ihe Land" (2011, an original short story available on Hambly's website) # "Nanya of the Butterflies" (2015) # "Hazard" (2017) # "Gwenael" (2018)

Winterlands

# '' Dragonsbane'' (1985; Locus Award nominee, 1986 and 1987) # ''Dragonshadow'' (1999; Locus Award nominee, 2000) # ''Knight of the Demon Queen'' (2000; Locus Award nominee, 2001) # ''Dragonstar'' (2002) # ''Princess'' (2010, novella starring John Aversin. Now available on Hambly's website.)

The Windrose Chronicles

# ''The Silent Tower'' (1986) # ''The Silicon Mage'' (1988) # ''Darkmage'' (1988, omnibus of ''The Silent Tower'' and ''The Silicon Mage'') # '' Dog Wizard'' (1993; Locus Award nominee, 1994) # ''Stranger at the Wedding'' (also published as ''Sorcerer's Ward''; 1994)—not the same main characters, but set in the same universe # "Firemaggot" (2010, an original short story available on Smashwords) # "Corridor" (2011, an original short story available on Smashwords) # "Plus-One" (2012, an original short story available on Smashwords) # "Personal Paradise" (2014, an original short story available on Smashwords) # "Zénobie" (July 2015, an original short story available on Smashwords) # "...Pretty Maids All in a Row" (October 2015) # "Karate Masters vs the Invaders from Outer Space" (December 2017)

Star Trek Universe

# ''

Ishmael In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Isla ...

'' (1985) # ''Ghost-Walker'' (1991) # ''Crossroad'' (1994)

James Asher, Vampire novels

# '' Those Who Hunt the Night'', AKA ''Immortal Blood'' (UK title) (1988; Locus Award winner for Best Horror Novel in 1989) # '' Traveling with the Dead'' (1995; Locus Award nominee, 1996, winner of the Lord Ruthven Award, 1996) # ''Blood Maidens'' (2010) # ''Magistrates of Hell'' (2012) # ''The Kindred of Darkness'' (U.K. 2013, U.S. 2014) # ''Darkness on His Bones'' (2015) # ''Pale Guardian'' (U.K. 2016, U.S. 2017) # ''Prisoner of Midnight'' (U.S. 2019) The short story "Sunrise on Running Water" (2007, published in the anthology ''Dark Delicacies II: Fear'') is set in the world of the James Asher novels but does not feature Asher himself.

Beauty and the Beast

# ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' novelization (1989) # ''Song of Orpheus'' (1990)

Sun-Cross

# ''The Rainbow Abyss'' (1991; Locus Award nominee, 1992) # ''The Magicians of Night'' (1992; Locus Award nominee, 1993)

Star Wars universe

* ''

Children of the Jedi The Callista trilogy is a series of three ''Star Wars'' novels featuring the ex-Jedi character Callista Ming; while not officially branded as a trilogy, they are often regarded as such. They take place beginning several months after the ''Jedi ...

'' (1995) * "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale" (1995, short story in the anthology ''

Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina ''Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina'' (1995) is an anthology of short stories set in the fictional ''Star Wars'' universe. The book is edited by Kevin J. Anderson. It is based on characters seen in the Mos Eisley cantina, a shady bar filled with ...

'') * "Taster's Choice: The Tale of Jabba's Chef" (1996, short story from the anthology ''

Tales from Jabba's Palace ''Tales from Jabba's Palace'' is an anthology of short stories set in the fictional ''Star Wars'' universe. The book was edited by Kevin J. Anderson and published on December 1, 1995 by Bantam Spectra. Contents * Introduction # "A Boy and H ...

'') * "Murder in Slushtime" (1997, short story published in ''Star Wars Adventure Journal'' 14) * ''

Planet of Twilight The Callista trilogy is a series of three ''Star Wars'' novels featuring the ex-Jedi character Callista Ming; while not officially branded as a trilogy, they are often regarded as such. They take place beginning several months after the ''Jedi ...

'' (1997)

Raven Sisters

* ''Sisters of the Raven'' (2002) * ''Circle of the Moon'' (2005)

Silver Screen historical mystery series

* ''Scandal in Babylon'' (2021). Not exactly a sequel to ''Bride of the Rat God'', which was a supernatural fantasy. Hambly decided that the same characters, with the same names and mostly the same backstories, would work well in a mystery, eventually a series, without supernatural elements. * ''One Extra Corpse'' (2023) * ''Saving Susy Sweetchild'' (2024)

Standalone works

* ''Bride of the Rat God'' (1994; Locus Award nominee, 1995) and (sequel) ''Castle of Horror'' (April 2016, Amazon/Kindle) * ''Magic Time'' (2002) (with Marc Zicree. The first of a trilogy. The other two volumes are by other authors: ''Angelfire'' by Marc Scott Zicree and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, and ''Ghostlands'' by Marc Scott Zicree and Robert Charles Wilson.) * ''Renfield: Slave of Dracula'' (2006) * "Someone Else's Shadow" (short story in the ''Night's Edge'' anthology) *''The Iron Princess'' (2023)

Television credits

* ''

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors ''Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors'' (French: ''Jayce et les Conquérants de la Lumière'') is an animated show which was first broadcast on TF1 on September 9, 1985, on the block ''Salut les p'tits loups!'', and eventually on September 16 in the ...

'' (1985) * '' M.A.S.K.'' (1985) * '' She-Ra: Princess of Power'' (1986) * '' The Centurions'' (1986) * '' Starcom: The U.S. Space Force'' (1987)

References

External links

*
Bibliography
at SciFan * * *
Barbara Hamilton
(pseudonym) at LC Authorities, with 3 records
Barbara Hambly papers
at the

Online Archive of California In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambly, Barbara 1951 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American women short story writers Living people People with mood disorders Writers from Riverside, California Writers of historical mysteries University of California, Riverside alumni American women science fiction and fantasy writers American women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women historical novelists American historical novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Presidents of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association