What do you think?
Rate this book
Believing: The Other Stories of Zenna Henderson
Zenna Henderson is best known for her stories of The People, published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from the early 1950s to the mid-1970s. The People, a group of human-appearing aliens, escaped the destruction of their home world only to be shipwrecked on Earth, where they struggled to hide their extra abilities. These stories were collected into one volume in 1995 when NESFA Press published Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson. During the same period, Henderson published an equal number of non-People stories. Like the stories of The People, they range from comforting to unnerving. Fans of The People will recognize the same underlying belief in the goodness of people and other beings as they struggle for a chance at a better future. These stories have a common theme — belief. A girl believes that the hills are lost beasts and leads them home; a boy believes he can fight evil with a pocket piece made from Popsicle sticks; a boy believes he can build a noise-eating machine — with fatal results. Believing: The Other Stories of Zenna Henderson contains every non-People story, all long out of print. Thirty-three of the stories in this volume are from her collections, The Anything Box and Holding Wonder. The remaining five stories and three poems were previously published in other magazines and anthologies. Welcome to Zenna Henderson’s world.
426 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2020
56 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Zenna Henderson
124 books93 followersZenna Chlarson Henderson was born on November 1, 1917 in the Tucson, Arizona area. She graduated from Arizona State in 1940 with a Bachelors degree in education and worked as a teacher in Arizona throughout her life. She died on May 11, 1983, at the age of 65, in Tucson.
Henderson is known almost entirely for short stories about "The People." The People are a race of sensitive, human-looking aliens with psychic abilities who are separated after crash-landing on Earth but come to find each other over a period of many years.
Publishing her "People" stories in the leading science fiction magazines of the 50's, 60's and 70's, Henderson became a pioneer in many areas of science fiction literature. She was one of the first female science fiction writers, and was one of an even smaller number who wrote openly as a woman, without using male-sounding pseudonyms or initials (James Tiptree, Jr.; C.L. Moore; etc.).
Henderson was one of the first in science fiction to truly take young people seriously and write expressive, mature stories from their point of view. She drew on her experience as a teacher of young people, and was able to bring a rare level of insight to her use of young characters. Henderson's youthful protagonists are neither adults forced into young bodies, nor are they frivolous caricatures. They are very human, complete souls, yet marked by authentic signs of youth and innocence. Interestingly enough, Lois McMaster Bujold and Orson Scott Card, both of whom mention Henderson as an important early influence, have also been among the most successful chroniclers of young people, with such Hugo- and Nebula-award winning novels as Falling Free and Ender's Game.
Her books and stories about The People were the basis for the movie
The People, 1972, starring William Shatner and Kim Darby. Despite similarities, both Escape to Witch Mountain, 1975, and Return to Witch Mountain, 1978, were a result of books by Alexander Key.
Henderson is known almost entirely for short stories about "The People." The People are a race of sensitive, human-looking aliens with psychic abilities who are separated after crash-landing on Earth but come to find each other over a period of many years.
Publishing her "People" stories in the leading science fiction magazines of the 50's, 60's and 70's, Henderson became a pioneer in many areas of science fiction literature. She was one of the first female science fiction writers, and was one of an even smaller number who wrote openly as a woman, without using male-sounding pseudonyms or initials (James Tiptree, Jr.; C.L. Moore; etc.).
Henderson was one of the first in science fiction to truly take young people seriously and write expressive, mature stories from their point of view. She drew on her experience as a teacher of young people, and was able to bring a rare level of insight to her use of young characters. Henderson's youthful protagonists are neither adults forced into young bodies, nor are they frivolous caricatures. They are very human, complete souls, yet marked by authentic signs of youth and innocence. Interestingly enough, Lois McMaster Bujold and Orson Scott Card, both of whom mention Henderson as an important early influence, have also been among the most successful chroniclers of young people, with such Hugo- and Nebula-award winning novels as Falling Free and Ender's Game.
Her books and stories about The People were the basis for the movie
The People, 1972, starring William Shatner and Kim Darby. Despite similarities, both Escape to Witch Mountain, 1975, and Return to Witch Mountain, 1978, were a result of books by Alexander Key.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 1, 2025
tickled pink to get this book -- so much so I got a physical hardback copy AND an e-book since I actually enjoy reading shorts on my kindle...
love the poems!!!
love the poems!!!
May 15, 2022
Believing: The Other Stories of Zenna Henderson is a surprisingly difficult book to review, or at least so I find it to be, and I have spent some time trying to determine why this is so. The first thought that comes to mind is that, in fiction, my preference is to become enmeshed in the story of a full-length novel, and perhaps the brevity of the forty-one entries in this anthology is off-putting. But, no, that cannot be the reason. After all, the 800-page anthology entitled Bradbury Stories includes many tales by Ray Bradbury far briefer than those in Believing, and that collection earns five stars only because more are not allowed. We must look elsewhere to find the explanation for my difficulty with Henderson's book.
I came to Believing predisposed to like it immensely because of previous acquaintance with the author's other creations. Another anthology of Henderson's collected stories, Ingathering: The Complete People Stories, continues to reap my praise. It, too, is an anthology of short stories, but each is typically longer than those in Believing, and all revolve around a common theme, leaving its collected stories more like chapters in a novel than as discrete creations. Based on my familiarity with the “People” stories, my expectations for these “other stories” were perhaps too high. Had I read Believing before Ingathering, my opinion of these stories might have been more positive; on the other hand, they might have discouraged me from reading Henderson's other works, and I'd have missed some excellent writing.
The first fourteen stories have been separately published in another, shorter anthology entitled The Anything Box, and I found these to be the least satisfying. The stories typically lack any sort of conclusion, certainly nothing approaching a dénouement. I initially concluded that this is an intentional technique by Henderson, who leaves her readers free to continue the stories in their imaginations and provide endings to their liking, which is not my particular cup of tea. The tone of the writing itself also strikes me as relatively uninspired, the product of a writer who, though grammatically and syntactically astute, has yet to develop a sense of nuance and connotation that emboldens the reader's imagination by suggesting more than the text describes. Some stories are, inevitably, more effective in stimulating the reader's thoughts than are others, but, overall, I would disappointedly rate these stories at a three-star level.
The next nineteen stories have appeared in a collection entitled Holding Wonder, and they are generally more pleasing than are those in the first section. Although these stories are not in the chronological order of their writing, or at least of their initial publication dates, nevertheless Henderson's wordcraft skills seem more practiced and the stories have more of a visceral impact on readers' imaginations and emotions than do the tales from The Anything Box. Again, some lack definitive conclusions, and all do vary somewhat in quality. For example, "One of Them" reads something like a psychological examination of the effect of a suicide on the character's colleagues, and I'm still trying to discover exactly what the author's goal was in writing the story, the nature of which is strikingly different from that of every other story in the collection. A minor nit to be picked in the same story is that Henderson mentions Federal Civil Service pay grades at one point and explains that the "GS" in those pay grades means "Government Service." The problem is that it means no such thing, actually being the initials for "General Schedule." Another story in this section, "Ad Astra," goes along rather splendidly until the end when one character speaks the words of the title, and the reader is hit with the realization that the title is actually a double entendre, and a humorous one at that, the humor fitting poorly with the rest of the story. These two stories notwithstanding, the others in this section surely deserve a four-star rating.
Five more short stories and a few brief poems remain to complete the last section of the anthology, and they have not appeared in other published collections of Henderson's works. They are also undoubtedly the most polished and most expertly formed stories in the book. Curiously, however, Henderson appears to inject her personal beliefs in Christian mythology into several of them. Naturally, these may be considered either positive or negative intrusions depending on readers' own beliefs or at least their tolerance for such. Overall though, the quality of these final stories is pretty much at the five-star level
In brief then, the stories in Believing vary in quality, generally improving as one progresses through the volume. Averaging them out, if such a practice is even valid for an anthology, one arrives at a four-star rating for the book. These stories do generally seem inferior to Henderson's stories of the "People," and if one has never read Henderson before, my recommendation would be for the anthology Ingathering rather than Believing. Still, if one has not read her "non-People" stories before, several of these are surely worth the time expended on them, and, after all, according to author and literary critic Edmund Wilson, no two people ever read the same book, or, to put it another way, each reader's experience may differ. The only way to know is to read the book !
I came to Believing predisposed to like it immensely because of previous acquaintance with the author's other creations. Another anthology of Henderson's collected stories, Ingathering: The Complete People Stories, continues to reap my praise. It, too, is an anthology of short stories, but each is typically longer than those in Believing, and all revolve around a common theme, leaving its collected stories more like chapters in a novel than as discrete creations. Based on my familiarity with the “People” stories, my expectations for these “other stories” were perhaps too high. Had I read Believing before Ingathering, my opinion of these stories might have been more positive; on the other hand, they might have discouraged me from reading Henderson's other works, and I'd have missed some excellent writing.
The first fourteen stories have been separately published in another, shorter anthology entitled The Anything Box, and I found these to be the least satisfying. The stories typically lack any sort of conclusion, certainly nothing approaching a dénouement. I initially concluded that this is an intentional technique by Henderson, who leaves her readers free to continue the stories in their imaginations and provide endings to their liking, which is not my particular cup of tea. The tone of the writing itself also strikes me as relatively uninspired, the product of a writer who, though grammatically and syntactically astute, has yet to develop a sense of nuance and connotation that emboldens the reader's imagination by suggesting more than the text describes. Some stories are, inevitably, more effective in stimulating the reader's thoughts than are others, but, overall, I would disappointedly rate these stories at a three-star level.
The next nineteen stories have appeared in a collection entitled Holding Wonder, and they are generally more pleasing than are those in the first section. Although these stories are not in the chronological order of their writing, or at least of their initial publication dates, nevertheless Henderson's wordcraft skills seem more practiced and the stories have more of a visceral impact on readers' imaginations and emotions than do the tales from The Anything Box. Again, some lack definitive conclusions, and all do vary somewhat in quality. For example, "One of Them" reads something like a psychological examination of the effect of a suicide on the character's colleagues, and I'm still trying to discover exactly what the author's goal was in writing the story, the nature of which is strikingly different from that of every other story in the collection. A minor nit to be picked in the same story is that Henderson mentions Federal Civil Service pay grades at one point and explains that the "GS" in those pay grades means "Government Service." The problem is that it means no such thing, actually being the initials for "General Schedule." Another story in this section, "Ad Astra," goes along rather splendidly until the end when one character speaks the words of the title, and the reader is hit with the realization that the title is actually a double entendre, and a humorous one at that, the humor fitting poorly with the rest of the story. These two stories notwithstanding, the others in this section surely deserve a four-star rating.
Five more short stories and a few brief poems remain to complete the last section of the anthology, and they have not appeared in other published collections of Henderson's works. They are also undoubtedly the most polished and most expertly formed stories in the book. Curiously, however, Henderson appears to inject her personal beliefs in Christian mythology into several of them. Naturally, these may be considered either positive or negative intrusions depending on readers' own beliefs or at least their tolerance for such. Overall though, the quality of these final stories is pretty much at the five-star level
In brief then, the stories in Believing vary in quality, generally improving as one progresses through the volume. Averaging them out, if such a practice is even valid for an anthology, one arrives at a four-star rating for the book. These stories do generally seem inferior to Henderson's stories of the "People," and if one has never read Henderson before, my recommendation would be for the anthology Ingathering rather than Believing. Still, if one has not read her "non-People" stories before, several of these are surely worth the time expended on them, and, after all, according to author and literary critic Edmund Wilson, no two people ever read the same book, or, to put it another way, each reader's experience may differ. The only way to know is to read the book !
January 12, 2021
Believing
When I was a teenager, I first discovered Zenna Henderson in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. It is such a pleasure to have her collected works available in this collection and in the People collection on my Kindle. The great authors of her time were Heinlein, Asimov, Clark and the like. In my opinion, she deserves similar ranking.
When I was a teenager, I first discovered Zenna Henderson in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. It is such a pleasure to have her collected works available in this collection and in the People collection on my Kindle. The great authors of her time were Heinlein, Asimov, Clark and the like. In my opinion, she deserves similar ranking.
May 5, 2023
I first discovered the brilliance of Zenna Henderson's short stories in high school. The awe and wonder captivated me. I even chose one for performance in Prose Interpretation competition. My husband and I have two old paperbacks of her stories on our bookshelves. Fast forward to the finding of this large compilation of her works. Rediscovering old met the discovery of stories I had never read. Many might puzzle if she is a science fiction or fantasy writer; she is both and much more. She sees people in all walks of life--their joy and pain. She sees nature and the universe. She sees God in everything but doesn't preach. Beyond everyday experiences, her stories transport the reader into the impossible but possible. Her writing flows and captivates. It is unique and brilliant. Don't miss reading Zenna Henderson.
June 10, 2020
I really, really enjoyed this. The stories go all over the place - some clever, some creepy, so confusing, some poignant - and make for a strong variety and collection. I'm so pleased to have this all in one place and as an ebook.
I had read some of the stories from "The Anything Box" which I own as an old paperback. I don't know why I didn't read them all (small print?) but the second one, "Subcommittee" is one that has stuck with me in its generalities for a long time, so I was especially pleased to track down exactly what story had been haunting me.
I had read some of the stories from "The Anything Box" which I own as an old paperback. I don't know why I didn't read them all (small print?) but the second one, "Subcommittee" is one that has stuck with me in its generalities for a long time, so I was especially pleased to track down exactly what story had been haunting me.
November 23, 2022
A collection of short stories that really show their age; the feeling is very, very mid-20th-century. But I enjoyed most of it. Not always a lot of plot here--just encounters with the weird. This is especially true of the first section, which has a number of teachers dealing with the weirdness of elementary school students. Thos stories are oddly intimate and disturbing. The last section, with the uncollected/ unpublished stories could have stayed that way: they feel unfinished.
February 3, 2024
Read:
The Anything Box - 3/5
The Anything Box - 3/5
October 12, 2024
I'm so proud I'm related to the author
March 26, 2025
Reread, except for the never-collected stories. A mixed bag, but there are enough excellent stories to give this 4.5 stars, rounded up.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews