A few weeks ago, we took a look at the long history of women in horror. Today, we look at women’s past (and present) in the speculative fiction genres of science fiction and fantasy.
Our Speculative Roots
Our relationship with these stories goes back, once again, to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and beyond. Whether writing as themselves or often under pseudonyms, women have been there from the beginning. Virginia Woolf wrote fantastical sci-fi under the nom de plume E.V. Odle including the works The Puppeteer God (an influence for The Matrix) and The Houyhnhnm (an inspiration for The Planet of the Apes). Other notable early foremothers include Gertrude Bennet who wrote as Francis Stevens and is seen as the inventor of “dark fantasy,” Continue reading