From Publishers Weekly
Robert's intriguing biography of the legendary Dragon Lady of Pern provides a fascinating overview of Anne McCaffrey's life along with some keen insights into how her career developed. A trail blazer, McCaffrey, now 81, says she "put romance in science fiction." Roberts counts her among authors such as Ursula K. LeGuin and Joanna Russ who helped change the face of a once male-dominated genre. In a chatty, chronological format, Roberts sketches McCaffrey's life as a perky student, frustrated young mother and wife, SF insider (including her brief affair with Isaac Asimov) and expatriate. Her post-divorce move to Ireland came as a surprise to many but soon led to tremendous success, despite her longing for the company of friends such as her mentor and agent, Virginia Kidd. McCaffrey was the first woman to win each and both of the prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards, and in 1978, she became the first author to have a science fiction book (The White Dragon) on the New York Times bestseller list. This is not an "authorized" biography, and though McCaffrey gave Roberts her blessing and access to crucial papers, she appears to be an elusive interview subject. The result is an authentic but sometimes enigmatic portrait. 30 b&w illus.
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Review
"Highly recommended for librarians, English instructors and professors of young adult literature. It responds to a crying need for quality literary criticism in the field. A vital purchase for public, academic, and secondary school libraries."-Catholic Library World
"This recent addition to Greenwood's Critical Companions to Contemporary Writers series is a truly useful guide to Anne McCaffrey's fiction. Although written for readers who are probably unfamiliar with science fiction, this book would be a useful tool for scholars and McCaffrey's fans."-SFRA Review
"Science Fiction enthusiasts with a solid grounding in McCaffrey's works receive a fine critical examination which probes her noves to date. While young adults producing reports will find this quite useful, many an adult enthusiast can easily use this as a key to understanding mcCaffrey's many contributions to her field."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
From the Publisher
This biography of one of the first women to achieve international success writing science fiction ---Provides the first consideration of the author of the Dragonriders of Pern novels, a major science-fiction/fantasy writer
---Offers a meticulously researched but very lively text
---Draws on interviews with McCaffrey, her family, friends, and colleagues
From the Inside Flap
A biography of one of the first women to achieve international success writing science fiction
From the Back Cover
The first woman to win the Hugo Award (given annually by the World Science Fiction convention) and the Nebula Award (given annually by the Science Fiction Writers of America), Anne McCaffrey has invented many worlds of science fiction. Her series The Dragonriders of Pern has become one of the most widely read in science fiction history. This is the first complete critical study of her work. It examines all of her novels to date, both individual and series, and reveals why she deserves the critical recognition her works have received. Roberts explores the range and complexity of her novels and the recurrent themes that have attracted so many young adults to her work: the heroine as outsider, the need for tolerance and the acceptance of difference, the importance of living harmoniously with nature, and the value of art and literature. McCaffrey's contributions to science fiction are many, including the creation of scientifically engineered dragons, brain ships, and scientifically explained mental powers such as telepathy and telekinesis. Roberts shows how McCaffrey's extrapolation of science raises social issues and causes us to think about the future. Each chapter in this study deals with an individual novel or series and features sections on genre, plot, theme, and character development. In addition, Roberts defines and applies a variety of theoretical approaches to the works to widen the reader's perspective. The study features a chapter on McCaffrey's life, including an interview with her, a chapter defining the science fiction genre and McCaffrey's place in it, and a complete bibliography of McCaffrey's fiction and of reviews and criticism. Because of her great popularity amongteenagers and adults, this study is a necessary purchase by secondary schools and public libraries.
About the Author
Robin Roberts is professor emeritus of English and gender studies at the University of Arkansas. She is author of several books on gender and popular culture, including Subversive Spirits: The Female Ghost in British and American Popular Culture, Anne McCaffrey: A Life with Dragons, and Ladies First: Women in Music Videos and coauthor (with Leslie A. Wade and Frank de Caro) of Downtown Mardi Gras: New Carnival Practices in Post-Katrina New Orleans, all published by University Press of Mississippi.
