C. L. Moore

Catherine Lucile Moore (January 24, 1911 - April 4, 1987): science fiction and fantasy writer.

C.L. Moore was born on January 24, 1911 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her first stories appeared in pulp magazines in the 1930s, including two significant series in Weird Tales. One was about the rogue and adventurer, Northwest Smith, and his wanderings through the Solar System; the other was a fantasy series about Jirel of Joiry (one of the first female protagonists in sword-and-sorcery fiction). Her early stories were notable for their emphasis on the senses and emotions, which was highly unusual at the time.

She met Henry Kuttner, who was also a science fiction writer, in 1938, and they married two years later. Afterwards, almost all of their stories were written together, under various pseudonyms. In this very prolific collaboration, they often managed to combine Moore's style with Kuttner's more cerebral one. Their stories include the now-classic "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" and "Vintage Season". After Kuttner's death in 1958, she wrote almost no fiction.

C. L. Moore died on April 4, 1987 at her home in Hollywood, California.

Partial bibliography:

• Earth's Last Citadel (1943)
• The Mask of Circe (1948)
• Beyond Earth's Gates (1949)
• Judgment Night 1952
• Doomsday Morning (1957)
• Jirel of Joiry (1969)