Jane Gaskell (born July 7, 1941 in

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

, EnglandSharon Yntema, ''More Than 100: Women Science Fiction Writers''. Crossing Press, 1988. (pp. 51-52).) is a British fantasy writer.

Career

She wrote her first novel, ''Strange Evil'', at age 14. It was published two years later and was described by John Grant as "a major work of the fantastic imagination", comparing it to George MacDonald's ''

Lilith Lilith (; ), also spelled Lilit, Lilitu, or Lilis, is a feminine figure in Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, theorized to be the first wife of Adam and a primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Eden ...

'' and David Lindsay's ''

A Voyage to Arcturus ''A Voyage to Arcturus'' is a novel by the Scottish writer David Lindsay, first published in 1920. An interstellar voyage is the framework for a narrative of a journey through fantastic landscapes. The story is set at Tormance, an imaginary pl ...

''.John Grant, "Gaskell, Jane" in ''St. James Guide To Fantasy Writers'', ed.

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 whi ...

, London, St. James Press, 1996, , (p. 224-6).

China Miéville China Tom Miéville ( , born 6 September 1972) is a British speculative fiction writer and Literary criticism, literary critic. He often describes his work as "weird fiction", and is allied to the loosely associated movement of writers called ...

lists ''Strange Evil'' as one of the top 10 examples of weird fiction whilst

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part ...

called it "an astonishingly imaginative piece of fantasy by any standards.""Gaskell, Jane", ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', John Clute & John Grant, ed., p.190 Gaskell's horror novel ''The Shiny Narrow Grin'' (1964) featured a sympathetic, tormented vampire and was described by

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...

as one of the first "revisionist vampire novels", whose most successful exemplar was ''

Interview with the Vampire ''Interview with the Vampire'' is a gothic horror and vampire novel by American author Anne Rice, published in 1976. It was her debut novel. Based on a short story Rice wrote around 1968, the novel centers on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac ...

'' by

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing ''The Vampire Chronicles''. She later adapted t ...

. ''The Shiny Narrow Grin'' was also listed by horror historian Robert S. Hadji in his list of "unjustly neglected" horror novels.R.S. Hadji, "13 Neglected Masterpieces of the Macabre", in ''

Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine ''Twilight Zone'' literature is an umbrella term for the many books and comic books which concern or adapt ''The Twilight Zone'' television series. Comics Gold Key Comics published a long-running ''Twilight Zone'' comic that featured the liken ...

'', July–August 1983. TZ Publications, Inc. (p. 6

/ref> Her ''Atlan'' saga is set in prehistoric South America and in the mythical world of

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

. The series is written from the point of view of its clumsy heroine Cija, except for the last book, which is narrated by her daughter Seka.John Clute, "Jane Gaskell", in Clute and Peter Nicholls, ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

''. London : Orbit, 1993. (p.477). In 1970 she received the

Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to ...

for her novel ''A Sweet Sweet Summer'' (jointly with

Piers Paul Read Piers Paul Read FRSL (born 7 March 1941) is a British novelist, historian and biographer. He was first noted in 1974 for a book of reportage, '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', later adapted as a feature film and a documentary. Read ...

for his ''

Monk Dawson ''Monk Dawson'' is a 1998 British film directed and produced by Tom Waller and starring John Michie, Benedict Taylor, Martin Kemp, Rhona Mitra, and Paula Hamilton. It was based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Piers Paul Read. In Ca ...

''). ''A Sweet, Sweet Summer'' features aliens visiting a violent future Earth;

Baird Searles William Baird Searles (1934–1993) was a science fiction author and critic. He was best known for his long-running review columns for the magazines ''Asimov's'' (reviewing books), '' Amazing'', and ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (reviewing films, ...

stated the book makes "''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

'' look like ''

Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by ...

''". Gaskell wrote several social realism novels, ''Attic Summer'' (1963), ''The Fabulous Heroine'' (1966), ''All Neat in Black Stockings'' (1966) ( filmed in 1969) with Gaskell co-writing the screenplay, and ''Summer Coming'' (1972). From the 1960s to the 1980s, Gaskell worked as a journalist on the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

''. She later became a professional astrologer.

Books

Standalone novels

*'' Strange Evil'' (1957) *'' King's Daughter'' (1958) *'' Attic Summer'' (1963) *'' The Shiny Narrow Grin'' (1964) * ''The Fabulous Heroine'' (1966) *''All Neat in Black Stockings'' (1966) *'' A Sweet, Sweet Summer'' (1969) *'' Summer Coming'' (1972) *'' Sun Bubble'' (1990)

The Atlan Saga

*'' The Serpent'' (1963) *'' The Dragon'' (the second half of 'The Serpent' in later editions - 1975) *'' Atlan'' (1965) *'' The City'' (1966) *'' Some Summer Lands'' (1977)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaskell, Jane 1941 births Living people English fantasy writers English science fiction writers British weird fiction writers English astrologers 20th-century British astrologers 21st-century astrologers English women novelists 20th-century English women 20th-century English writers 21st-century English women 21st-century English writers Writers from Lancaster, Lancashire