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Under the Moons of Mars: A History & Anthology of the Scientific Romance in the Munsey Magazines 1912-20
A history and anthology of the scientific romances found in the Munsey magazines, 1912 to 1920.
433 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
About the author
Sam Moskowitz
128 books14 followersSam Moskowitz (June 30, 1920-April 15, 1997) was an early fan and organizer of interest in science fiction and, later, a writer, critic, and historian of the field. As a child, Moskowitz greatly enjoyed reading science fiction pulp magazines. As a teenager, he organized a branch of the Science Fiction League. Meanwhile, Donald A. Wollheim helped organize the Futurians, a rival club with Marxist sympathies. While still in his teens, Moskowitz became chairman of the first World Science Fiction Convention held in New York City in 1939. He barred several Futurians from the convention because they threatened to disrupt it. This event is referred to by historians of fandom as the "Great Exclusion Act."
Moskowitz later worked professionally in the science fiction field. He edited Science-Fiction Plus, a short-lived genre magazine owned by Hugo Gernsback, in 1953. He compiled about two dozen anthologies, and a few single-author collections, most published in the 1960s and early 1970s. Moskowitz also wrote a handful of short stories (three published in 1941, one in 1953, three in 1956). His most enduring work is likely to be his writing on the history of science fiction, in particular two collections of short author biographies, Explorers of the Infinite and Seekers of Tomorrow, as well as the highly regarded Under the Moons of Mars: A History and Anthology of “The Scientific Romance” in the Munsey Magazines, 1912-1920. Moskowitz has been criticized for eccentrically assigning priorities and tracing influences regarding particular themes and ideas based principally on publication dates, as well as for some supposed inaccuracies. His exhaustive cataloguing of early sf magazine stories by important genre authors remains the best resource for nonspecialists.
Moskowitz's most popular work may be The Immortal Storm, a historical review of internecine strife within fandom. Moskowitz wrote it in a bombastic style that made the events he described seem so important that, as fan historian Harry Warner, Jr. quipped, "If read directly after a history of World War II, it does not seem like an anticlimax."
Moskowitz was also renowned as a science fiction book collector, with a tremendous number of important early works and rarities. His book collection was auctioned off after his death.
As "Sam Martin", he was also editor of the trade publications Quick Frozen Foods and Quick Frozen Foods International for many years.
First Fandom, an organization of science fiction fans active before 1940, gives an award in Moskowitz' memory each year at the World Science Fiction Convention.
Moskowitz smoked cigarettes frequently throughout his adult life. A few years before his death, throat cancer required the surgical removal of his larynx. He continued to speak at science fiction conventions, using an electronic voice-box held against his throat. Throughout his later years, although his controversial opinions were often disputed by others, he was indisputably recognized as the leading authority on the history of science fiction.
Moskowitz later worked professionally in the science fiction field. He edited Science-Fiction Plus, a short-lived genre magazine owned by Hugo Gernsback, in 1953. He compiled about two dozen anthologies, and a few single-author collections, most published in the 1960s and early 1970s. Moskowitz also wrote a handful of short stories (three published in 1941, one in 1953, three in 1956). His most enduring work is likely to be his writing on the history of science fiction, in particular two collections of short author biographies, Explorers of the Infinite and Seekers of Tomorrow, as well as the highly regarded Under the Moons of Mars: A History and Anthology of “The Scientific Romance” in the Munsey Magazines, 1912-1920. Moskowitz has been criticized for eccentrically assigning priorities and tracing influences regarding particular themes and ideas based principally on publication dates, as well as for some supposed inaccuracies. His exhaustive cataloguing of early sf magazine stories by important genre authors remains the best resource for nonspecialists.
Moskowitz's most popular work may be The Immortal Storm, a historical review of internecine strife within fandom. Moskowitz wrote it in a bombastic style that made the events he described seem so important that, as fan historian Harry Warner, Jr. quipped, "If read directly after a history of World War II, it does not seem like an anticlimax."
Moskowitz was also renowned as a science fiction book collector, with a tremendous number of important early works and rarities. His book collection was auctioned off after his death.
As "Sam Martin", he was also editor of the trade publications Quick Frozen Foods and Quick Frozen Foods International for many years.
First Fandom, an organization of science fiction fans active before 1940, gives an award in Moskowitz' memory each year at the World Science Fiction Convention.
Moskowitz smoked cigarettes frequently throughout his adult life. A few years before his death, throat cancer required the surgical removal of his larynx. He continued to speak at science fiction conventions, using an electronic voice-box held against his throat. Throughout his later years, although his controversial opinions were often disputed by others, he was indisputably recognized as the leading authority on the history of science fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 23, 2012
It's an unsteady alliance of the essay piece and the fiction anthology, and it sometimes feels like this is actually two books that have been uncomfortably mooshed together. There is definitely redundant material in the essay, the preface, and the introduction to each story.
The anthology section is underdone, with several selections--_Darkness and Dawn_, _Palos of the Dog Star Pack_, and _The Blind Spot_--only featuring their most introductory chapters, before the stories themselves get going. As a result there's barely enough to determine if the writing appeals, and not enough to get a satisfying look at the "Scientific Romance" aspects of each. Strangely, the selection from what became _A Princess of Mars_ wisely omits the early chapters. Why was this not done for the others?
The essay doesn't even define "scientific romance" until about page fifty. It's deeply in love with its own facts, and sprawls over the topics of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the history of the Munsey periodicals themselves, the competitors, and the business decisions that surround it all. It seriously digresses into factoids of various works appearing in the magazines and even reports on an early flamewar initiated by H.P. Lovecraft regarding a Munsey contributor known for fluffy romances (thus proving that nothing ever really changes). It would be better to think of this piece as a set of smaller, more topical essays, but this is not how it is presented. It ends abruptly on the note that Munsey ceased purchasing Edgar Rice Burroughs pieces around 1920, and does not have a concluding section. Still, the wealth of titles and summaries of various published fiction did whet my appetite.
The anthology section is underdone, with several selections--_Darkness and Dawn_, _Palos of the Dog Star Pack_, and _The Blind Spot_--only featuring their most introductory chapters, before the stories themselves get going. As a result there's barely enough to determine if the writing appeals, and not enough to get a satisfying look at the "Scientific Romance" aspects of each. Strangely, the selection from what became _A Princess of Mars_ wisely omits the early chapters. Why was this not done for the others?
The essay doesn't even define "scientific romance" until about page fifty. It's deeply in love with its own facts, and sprawls over the topics of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the history of the Munsey periodicals themselves, the competitors, and the business decisions that surround it all. It seriously digresses into factoids of various works appearing in the magazines and even reports on an early flamewar initiated by H.P. Lovecraft regarding a Munsey contributor known for fluffy romances (thus proving that nothing ever really changes). It would be better to think of this piece as a set of smaller, more topical essays, but this is not how it is presented. It ends abruptly on the note that Munsey ceased purchasing Edgar Rice Burroughs pieces around 1920, and does not have a concluding section. Still, the wealth of titles and summaries of various published fiction did whet my appetite.
September 16, 2011
Not entirely the historical overview of early planetary fiction I'd been hoping for, but rather a selection of such stories that took inspiration from ERB's John Carter (represented here by the first story with its original title of "Under the Moons of Mars", natch) and to a lesser degree, Tarzan in the instance of "Polaris of the Snows" by French author JU Giesy.
A rare reprint of Francis Stevens' "Friend Island" is included along with the influential, but rarely reprinted "Girl In the Golden Atom" by Ray Cummings. A.E. Merritt's shorter version of "the Moon Pool" is also here, although Haggard was more of inspiration for Merritt than ERB. Other Murray Leinster, none of the other authors in the collection would be familiar to any readers unless they were pulp researchers themselves.
The "History of the Scientific Romance" is relegated to the back pages and covers more than just the history of this particular sub-genre (impact of the detective pulps, et al.) and somewhat detracts from the overall focus of why anyone would pick up the book in the first place...
A rare reprint of Francis Stevens' "Friend Island" is included along with the influential, but rarely reprinted "Girl In the Golden Atom" by Ray Cummings. A.E. Merritt's shorter version of "the Moon Pool" is also here, although Haggard was more of inspiration for Merritt than ERB. Other Murray Leinster, none of the other authors in the collection would be familiar to any readers unless they were pulp researchers themselves.
The "History of the Scientific Romance" is relegated to the back pages and covers more than just the history of this particular sub-genre (impact of the detective pulps, et al.) and somewhat detracts from the overall focus of why anyone would pick up the book in the first place...
February 24, 2017
Most of the stories selected really show their age, which makes for a great history lesson, but they must be taken as only that.
The last third of the book is a history of early pulp magazines. As someone with an interest in the history of publishing, the material in this portion of the book is great. I don't know if there is any other version of this history out there. Moskowitz's writing is not ideal. He's somewhat repetitive, and he gets a bit too deep into trivial statistical nature of the history with no broad overview of how these magazines were affecting people.
The last third of the book is a history of early pulp magazines. As someone with an interest in the history of publishing, the material in this portion of the book is great. I don't know if there is any other version of this history out there. Moskowitz's writing is not ideal. He's somewhat repetitive, and he gets a bit too deep into trivial statistical nature of the history with no broad overview of how these magazines were affecting people.
August 9, 2019
Samples of "scientific romance," and a book length history of early pulp magazines, the science fiction they published, and the beginning modern pop culture. Educational and fun.
July 13, 2019
I have no memory of when I first found this book, in a library, but I remember returning to it often over the years. When I moved, to a town which didn't have a copy of it in the local library, I knew I had to get it right away. Sadly this is out of print but as you can see from listings here and elsewhere, it's widely available used at all price levels, and I urge anyone with a real interest in early pulp science fiction/"scientific romance" to get a copy.
Moskowitz' book was most likely the first of its type (published in 1970) and remains one of just a few - the pulp revivals have been sporadic, and at this date few of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs - the single largest driver of the era covered here (1912-1921) are available, let alone those of other writers. The book is divided into two sections, the first being an anthology of short fiction and chunks of serials from the period, all first published in such magazines as ARGOSY, ALL-STORY, and THE CAVALIER. Here's a listing:
"Under the Moons of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs (from THE ALL-STORY MAGAZINE, February-July 1912)
"Darkness and Dawn" by George Allan England (THE CAVALIER AND THE SCRAP BOOK, January 1912)
"Polaris of the Snows" by Charles B. Stilson (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, December 18 1915-January 1 1916)
"Palos of the Dog Star Pack" by J.U. Giesy (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, July 13-August 10 1918)
"Friend Island" by Francis Stevens (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, September 7 1918)
"The Moon Pool" by A. Merritt (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, June 22 1918)
"The Girl in the Golden Atom" by Ray Cummings (ALL-STORY WEEKLY March 15 1919)
"The Mad Planet" by Murray Leinster (THE ARGOSY, June 12 1920)
"The Blind Spot" by Austin Hall and Homer Eon Flint (ARGOSY ALL-STORY WEEKLY May 14-June 18 1921)
Most of these, be warned, are incomplete sections of longer works, but as Moskowitz explains in the lengthy history of the magazines section that follows, the serials and novels are generally the best-remembered (or were, in 1970; now most of them are forgotten and out of print as well) and best-loved stories from the era. Moskowitz provides short biographical notes on each author, and the stories (or parts of stories) are presented as they originally appeared - if they were later revised.
I've turned to the the second section, the history of the magazines, much more often than to the stories themselves - many of which I have in their complete versions elsewhere. But the history is fascinating, and Moskowitz goes into great detail about Frank Munsey, the "godfather" of the whole pulp era in American publishing, and the era before Burroughs, back to the late 1890s. He explores to some extent the American attitudes about popular literature, the economics of the time which made the pulps viable, etc; but for the most part the focus is on the authors and the waxing and waning fortunes of the magazines and their publishers. It's all very lucid and entertaining, though if you are expecting a scholarly analysis and documentation, you won't find it. Moskowitz has come under fire at times for inaccuracies and prejudices in his quite deliberately "amateur" work - but I don't think such issues are a huge problem in this book - and there's really very else like it that's any more readily available. Just the documenting of the feuds between a young H.P. Lovecraft and others in the letters columns of the magazines alone is worth the price.
In short a hugely entertaining and informative introduction to the pulp era, and a worthy successor to the author's own "Science Fiction by Gaslight", covering the decades just prior to this period.
Moskowitz' book was most likely the first of its type (published in 1970) and remains one of just a few - the pulp revivals have been sporadic, and at this date few of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs - the single largest driver of the era covered here (1912-1921) are available, let alone those of other writers. The book is divided into two sections, the first being an anthology of short fiction and chunks of serials from the period, all first published in such magazines as ARGOSY, ALL-STORY, and THE CAVALIER. Here's a listing:
"Under the Moons of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs (from THE ALL-STORY MAGAZINE, February-July 1912)
"Darkness and Dawn" by George Allan England (THE CAVALIER AND THE SCRAP BOOK, January 1912)
"Polaris of the Snows" by Charles B. Stilson (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, December 18 1915-January 1 1916)
"Palos of the Dog Star Pack" by J.U. Giesy (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, July 13-August 10 1918)
"Friend Island" by Francis Stevens (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, September 7 1918)
"The Moon Pool" by A. Merritt (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, June 22 1918)
"The Girl in the Golden Atom" by Ray Cummings (ALL-STORY WEEKLY March 15 1919)
"The Mad Planet" by Murray Leinster (THE ARGOSY, June 12 1920)
"The Blind Spot" by Austin Hall and Homer Eon Flint (ARGOSY ALL-STORY WEEKLY May 14-June 18 1921)
Most of these, be warned, are incomplete sections of longer works, but as Moskowitz explains in the lengthy history of the magazines section that follows, the serials and novels are generally the best-remembered (or were, in 1970; now most of them are forgotten and out of print as well) and best-loved stories from the era. Moskowitz provides short biographical notes on each author, and the stories (or parts of stories) are presented as they originally appeared - if they were later revised.
I've turned to the the second section, the history of the magazines, much more often than to the stories themselves - many of which I have in their complete versions elsewhere. But the history is fascinating, and Moskowitz goes into great detail about Frank Munsey, the "godfather" of the whole pulp era in American publishing, and the era before Burroughs, back to the late 1890s. He explores to some extent the American attitudes about popular literature, the economics of the time which made the pulps viable, etc; but for the most part the focus is on the authors and the waxing and waning fortunes of the magazines and their publishers. It's all very lucid and entertaining, though if you are expecting a scholarly analysis and documentation, you won't find it. Moskowitz has come under fire at times for inaccuracies and prejudices in his quite deliberately "amateur" work - but I don't think such issues are a huge problem in this book - and there's really very else like it that's any more readily available. Just the documenting of the feuds between a young H.P. Lovecraft and others in the letters columns of the magazines alone is worth the price.
In short a hugely entertaining and informative introduction to the pulp era, and a worthy successor to the author's own "Science Fiction by Gaslight", covering the decades just prior to this period.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews