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Future Eves: Classic Science Fiction about Women by Women
How did visionary women see the future?
Written between 1931 and 1979, these 13 stories show how different women have, in different eras, envisioned the future of their sex. Selecting its contents from lesser known writers, Future Eves presents Leslie F. Stone's novelette "The Conquest of Gola" (1931), an encounter with Earth males told from the point-of-view of an alien matriarch. So far ahead of its time, nothing like it would be attempted again in science-fiction until the work of Alice Sheldon (aka, James Tiptree, Jr.) in the 1970s.
Hazel Heald's novelette "The Man of Stone," is searingly feminist, all the more so since her heroine, like so many women of the time, takes her brutalized situation so much for granted.
In "Miss Millie's Rose" (1959), Joy Leache manages what so few male science-fiction writers of the era seemed able to do: portray a character whose psychology arises out of her future world and not our own.
Betsy Curtis' "The Goddess of Planet Delight" is a short novel in the classic mode that mixes a sociological puzzle with pointed satire, high-adventure, and romance.
Brace yourself for Djinn Faine's "Daughter of Eve", a story you will never forget, no matter how hard you try.
Plus stories by Florence Engel Randall, Evelyn Goldstein, Beth Elliot, Evelyn E. Smith, Marcia Kaimien, and others. Future Eves is fascinating to listen to, both as science-fiction and as an eye-opening view into futures past.
Written between 1931 and 1979, these 13 stories show how different women have, in different eras, envisioned the future of their sex. Selecting its contents from lesser known writers, Future Eves presents Leslie F. Stone's novelette "The Conquest of Gola" (1931), an encounter with Earth males told from the point-of-view of an alien matriarch. So far ahead of its time, nothing like it would be attempted again in science-fiction until the work of Alice Sheldon (aka, James Tiptree, Jr.) in the 1970s.
Hazel Heald's novelette "The Man of Stone," is searingly feminist, all the more so since her heroine, like so many women of the time, takes her brutalized situation so much for granted.
In "Miss Millie's Rose" (1959), Joy Leache manages what so few male science-fiction writers of the era seemed able to do: portray a character whose psychology arises out of her future world and not our own.
Betsy Curtis' "The Goddess of Planet Delight" is a short novel in the classic mode that mixes a sociological puzzle with pointed satire, high-adventure, and romance.
Brace yourself for Djinn Faine's "Daughter of Eve", a story you will never forget, no matter how hard you try.
Plus stories by Florence Engel Randall, Evelyn Goldstein, Beth Elliot, Evelyn E. Smith, Marcia Kaimien, and others. Future Eves is fascinating to listen to, both as science-fiction and as an eye-opening view into futures past.
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First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 22, 2018
This fascination set of short stories shows just how brilliant the female science fiction authors of the 1930’s – 1950’s were. These stories are full of surprises and they were well ahead of their time. The narrator did a great job with all the stories, bringing each to life and creating tension and showing emotion in all the right places. This is an entertaining set of stories and a great glimpse into the minds of female authors of the past.
August 26, 2018
The publisher gave me the opportunity to listen to the Audible version of this book and I am glad that I was given the chance.
This is a collection of short stories written by women in the period of the 1930's to the 1950's, when most Science Fiction was being written by men. These stories all have a feminist tone to them, with women taking charge of their situations and making their own decisions.
Some of the stories are true sci-fi, such as "The Conquest of Gola", where a planet ruled by women is invaded by men. Another tale, "The Goddess of Planet Delight", involves a traveling salesman who goes to a planet called Delight to sell his wares.
"Delilah" is more of a psychological tale about an artist whose painting seems to be completing itself while he sleeps. "Alien Invasion" tells the poignant tale of a young woman who gives birth to an alien baby and "Days of Darkness" involves an almost vampiric alien takeover.
"Miss Millie's Rose" is the tale of an elderly woman who is trying to break free of a cursed rose so that she can die with dignity. This was an enjoyable story, full of great characters and humor. "Cocktails at Eight" is the story of a mother raising twin 4 year old boys on Mars. It really isn't that much different that raising kids on Earth, even with a Robot acting as nanny!
"The Man of Stone" has a more Lovecraftian feel to it. This story involves love, hate, spousal abuse, murder and revenge. The female protagonist takes charge of her own destiny in the end and of course, there is a twist there.
"The Last Day" is probably the story that will stay with me the longest, as we meet a woman who is probably the last person left on Earth after an apocalypse hits.
The narrator does a great job and adds a lot to the enjoyment of this book.
This is a collection of short stories written by women in the period of the 1930's to the 1950's, when most Science Fiction was being written by men. These stories all have a feminist tone to them, with women taking charge of their situations and making their own decisions.
Some of the stories are true sci-fi, such as "The Conquest of Gola", where a planet ruled by women is invaded by men. Another tale, "The Goddess of Planet Delight", involves a traveling salesman who goes to a planet called Delight to sell his wares.
"Delilah" is more of a psychological tale about an artist whose painting seems to be completing itself while he sleeps. "Alien Invasion" tells the poignant tale of a young woman who gives birth to an alien baby and "Days of Darkness" involves an almost vampiric alien takeover.
"Miss Millie's Rose" is the tale of an elderly woman who is trying to break free of a cursed rose so that she can die with dignity. This was an enjoyable story, full of great characters and humor. "Cocktails at Eight" is the story of a mother raising twin 4 year old boys on Mars. It really isn't that much different that raising kids on Earth, even with a Robot acting as nanny!
"The Man of Stone" has a more Lovecraftian feel to it. This story involves love, hate, spousal abuse, murder and revenge. The female protagonist takes charge of her own destiny in the end and of course, there is a twist there.
"The Last Day" is probably the story that will stay with me the longest, as we meet a woman who is probably the last person left on Earth after an apocalypse hits.
The narrator does a great job and adds a lot to the enjoyment of this book.
September 15, 2015
Future Eves: Great Science Fiction About Women by Women, edited by Jean Marie Stine, is an anthology of "Golden Age" science fiction stories written by women, reminding us that despite the attempts of some to frame science fiction as something 'ineluctably masculine,' women have been part of science fiction from the beginning. As Stine comments in her Introduction,
This anthology showcases nine classic tales by female science fiction writers, penned between 1926 (the publication of the first science fiction magazine) and 1960 (the dawn of modern SF), each featuring its own, unique future Eve. Although it is generally assumed that no – or few – women were writing science fiction during this period, research reveals a strikingly different picture. Recently a review was conducted of every issue of every SF magazine published from the debut first science fiction magazine in 1926 (Amazing Stories) and the modern age in SF magazine publishing in 1959 (when Imagination, the last pulp-influenced periodical went broke and the more literary, purse-sized magazines typical today became dominant). An unsuspected one hundred women contributed stories to their pages during those three and a half decades. Some researchers estimate the true number may well be twice that, as doubtless many women – believing, perhaps rightly, that their work would find readier acceptance – concealed their gender behind androgynous names, the anonymity of initials or beneath male pseudonyms.
The first of the stories is "The Conquest of Gola" by Leslie F. Stone (Wonder Stories, April 1931). A variation on the "battle of the sexes" theme, the story recounts the victory of invaders from the "planet of men" over a matriarchal society - and how the women fight back.
Margaretta W. Rea's "Delilah" (Amazing Stories, January 1933) is more of a psychological mystery than a science fiction or fantasy tale, about a painter who believes someone else is completing his paintings, and the clever fiancée who figures out the truth.
In Hazel Heald's "Man of Stone" (Wonder Stories, October 1932), two men set out to discover the truth behind a friend's story of finding amazingly detailed statues in a cave in the Adirondacks. A dark fantasy with links to the Cthulhu Mythos stories authored by Lovecraft and others. (It should be noted that Lovecraft edited and on occasion revised the work of members of this group of writes, Heald among them, and this story is sometimes credited to both authors - but it doesn't read like Lovecraft.)
In "Days of Darkness" by Evelyn Goldstein (Fantastic Stories, January 1960), a woman who has put others first for most of her life is saved by her self-sacrifice, but at a cost she may not be able to bear.
Marcia Kamien's "Alien Invasion" (Universe Science Fiction, March 1954) features a woman who must decide whether to bear and raise an unwanted child to save some small part of a dying world.
"Miss Millie's Rose" by Joy Leche (Fantastic Universe, May 1959) is a story about a most unusual miniature rose tree and its effects on the woman who owns it.
"The Goddess Planet Delight" by Betsy Curtis (Planet Stories, May 1953) features a travelling galactic salesman who finds himself on a planet where bureaucracy has been taken to a high art - and where goddesses really exist.
In "Cocktails at Eight" by Beth Elliot (Fantastic Universe, March 1959), a frazzled Martian housewife prepares for an important cocktail party while her twin boys get into all kinds of trouble. Very much the 50s middle class American Dream transplanted into an interplanetary future.
"The Last Day" by Helen Clarkson (Satellite Science Fiction, April 1958) is a sad and evocative story about the last survivor of a nuclear holocaust.
All in all, an interesting mix of short stories, some more memorable than others. The highlight for me was the last story in the book, Clarkson's "The Last Day," but I also found "Miss Millie's Rose" to be quite a strong offering.
This anthology showcases nine classic tales by female science fiction writers, penned between 1926 (the publication of the first science fiction magazine) and 1960 (the dawn of modern SF), each featuring its own, unique future Eve. Although it is generally assumed that no – or few – women were writing science fiction during this period, research reveals a strikingly different picture. Recently a review was conducted of every issue of every SF magazine published from the debut first science fiction magazine in 1926 (Amazing Stories) and the modern age in SF magazine publishing in 1959 (when Imagination, the last pulp-influenced periodical went broke and the more literary, purse-sized magazines typical today became dominant). An unsuspected one hundred women contributed stories to their pages during those three and a half decades. Some researchers estimate the true number may well be twice that, as doubtless many women – believing, perhaps rightly, that their work would find readier acceptance – concealed their gender behind androgynous names, the anonymity of initials or beneath male pseudonyms.
The first of the stories is "The Conquest of Gola" by Leslie F. Stone (Wonder Stories, April 1931). A variation on the "battle of the sexes" theme, the story recounts the victory of invaders from the "planet of men" over a matriarchal society - and how the women fight back.
Margaretta W. Rea's "Delilah" (Amazing Stories, January 1933) is more of a psychological mystery than a science fiction or fantasy tale, about a painter who believes someone else is completing his paintings, and the clever fiancée who figures out the truth.
In Hazel Heald's "Man of Stone" (Wonder Stories, October 1932), two men set out to discover the truth behind a friend's story of finding amazingly detailed statues in a cave in the Adirondacks. A dark fantasy with links to the Cthulhu Mythos stories authored by Lovecraft and others. (It should be noted that Lovecraft edited and on occasion revised the work of members of this group of writes, Heald among them, and this story is sometimes credited to both authors - but it doesn't read like Lovecraft.)
In "Days of Darkness" by Evelyn Goldstein (Fantastic Stories, January 1960), a woman who has put others first for most of her life is saved by her self-sacrifice, but at a cost she may not be able to bear.
Marcia Kamien's "Alien Invasion" (Universe Science Fiction, March 1954) features a woman who must decide whether to bear and raise an unwanted child to save some small part of a dying world.
"Miss Millie's Rose" by Joy Leche (Fantastic Universe, May 1959) is a story about a most unusual miniature rose tree and its effects on the woman who owns it.
"The Goddess Planet Delight" by Betsy Curtis (Planet Stories, May 1953) features a travelling galactic salesman who finds himself on a planet where bureaucracy has been taken to a high art - and where goddesses really exist.
In "Cocktails at Eight" by Beth Elliot (Fantastic Universe, March 1959), a frazzled Martian housewife prepares for an important cocktail party while her twin boys get into all kinds of trouble. Very much the 50s middle class American Dream transplanted into an interplanetary future.
"The Last Day" by Helen Clarkson (Satellite Science Fiction, April 1958) is a sad and evocative story about the last survivor of a nuclear holocaust.
All in all, an interesting mix of short stories, some more memorable than others. The highlight for me was the last story in the book, Clarkson's "The Last Day," but I also found "Miss Millie's Rose" to be quite a strong offering.
July 20, 2025
Both hits and misses in this collection. I would completely recommend this book if just for a few stories: Miss Millie's Rose, The Goddess Planet Delight, and The Last Day. You can probably skip everything else unless you want a taste of what people were thinking about at the time, which honestly was quite interesting (Mars, Venus, Eugenics, Communism).
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews