View source for Eric Frank Russell

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{short description|English science fiction writer}}
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[[File:Magazine cover - Unknown no. 1 (1939-03).jpg|thumb|Russell's classic "[[Sinister Barrier]]" was the cover story for Unknown No. 1 (1939-03)|upright]]
'''Eric Frank Russell''' (January 6, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was a [[British people|British]] writer best known for his [[science fiction]] novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in [[John W. Campbell]]'s ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]'' and other [[pulp magazine]]s. Russell also wrote [[horror fiction]] for ''[[Weird Tales]]'' and non-fiction articles on [[Charles Fort|Fortean]] topics. Up to 1955 several of his stories were published under [[pseudonym]]s, at least Duncan H. Munro and Niall(e) Wilde.<ref name=isfdb/><!-- see TALK#Pseudonyms -->

== Biography ==
Russell was born in [[1905 in science fiction|1905]] near [[Sandhurst, Berkshire|Sandhurst]] in [[Berkshire]], where his father was an instructor at the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Royal Military College]].<ref name="Collection">{{cite web|title=Handlist of the Eric Frank Russell Collection 1937–1984 |url=http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/0501efr.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121222192434/http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/0501efr.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-12-22 }}</ref><ref name="Ingham">{{cite book |last=Ingham |first=John L. |title=Into Your Tent: The Life, Work and Family Background of Eric Frank Russell |year=2010 |publisher= Plantech (U.K.) |isbn=978-0-9564576-0-8 }}</ref> Russell became a fan of science fiction and in 1934, while living near [[Liverpool]], he saw a letter in ''[[Amazing Stories]]'' from Leslie J. Johnson, another reader from the same area.<ref name = "Ashley">{{cite book |last=Ashley |first=Michael |author-link=Mike Ashley (writer) |title=The History of the Science Fiction Magazine, Volume 2 |year=1975 |publisher= Henry Regnery Company |isbn=0-8092-8002-7}}</ref><ref name=isfdb-johnson/> Russell met with Johnson, who encouraged him to embark on a writing career. Together, the two men wrote a [[novella]], "Seeker of Tomorrow", that was published by [[F. Orlin Tremaine]] in the July 1937 number of ''Astounding Stories''.<ref name=isfdb/>{{efn|Two novelettes by Russell alone preceded "Seeker for Tomorrow", in the February and April numbers of the monthly, and a short story followed in December, the third issue after Campbell succeeded Tremaine as editor.<ref name=isfdb/> One more of his stories was published that year, by Walter H. Gillings in ''[[Tales of Wonder (magazine)|Tales of Wonder]]'' #1, the first issue of <!--what we call-->Britain's first professional SF magazine (1937, no month).<ref name=isfdb/><!--probably late in the year, see TALK--> <br>&nbsp; Johnson had not yet published any speculative fiction.<!--according to ISFDB, which does not catalogue his crucial Letter either--> He and Russell also collaborated on one story published decades later, "Eternal Rediffusion" (''Weird Tales'', September 1973).<ref name=isfdb-johnson/>}} Both Russell and Johnson became members of the [[British Interplanetary Society]].<ref name="Ingham" />

Russell's first novel was ''Sinister Barrier'', cover story for the inaugural, May 1939 issue of ''[[Unknown (magazine)|Unknown]]''<ref name=isfdb/>—''Astounding''{{-'}}s sister magazine devoted to [[fantasy]]. It is explicitly a Fortean tale, based on [[Charles Fort]]'s famous speculation "I think we're property", Russell explains in the foreword.  An often-repeated legend has it that Campbell, on receiving the manuscript for ''Sinister Barrier'', created ''[[Unknown (magazine)|Unknown]]'' primarily as a vehicle for the short novel (pp.&nbsp;9–94).<!--pp. per ISFDB--> There is no real evidence for this, despite a statement to that effect in the first volume of [[Isaac Asimov]]'s autobiography, ''In Memory Yet Green''.<ref name="Ingham" />

His second novel, ''Dreadful Sanctuary'' (serialized in ''Astounding'' during 1948) is an early example of [[conspiracy fiction]], in which a [[Paranoia|paranoid]] [[delusion]] of global proportions is perpetuated by a small but powerful [[secret society]].<ref name="Langford">{{cite web |last=Langford |first=David | author-link=David Langford | title = SF Books of the Damned | work = Originally published in Fortean Times | year =1996 | url = http://www.ansible.co.uk/writing/damned.html }}</ref>

There are two incompatible accounts of Russell's military service during [[World War&nbsp;II]].<ref name="Ingham" /> The official, well-documented version is that he served with the [[Royal Air Force]], with whom he saw active service in Europe as a member of a Mobile Signals Unit. However, in the introduction to the 1986 [[Del Rey Books]] edition of Russell's novel ''Wasp'', [[Jack L. Chalker]] states that Russell was too old for active service, and instead worked for Military Intelligence in London, where he "spent the war dreaming up nasty tricks to play against the Germans and Japanese", including [[Operation Mincemeat]]. Russell's biographer John L. Ingham states however that "there is nothing, absolutely nothing, in his R.A.F. record to show that he was anything more than a wireless mechanic and radio operator".<ref name="Ingham" />

Russell took up writing full-time in the late 1940s. He became an active member of British [[science fiction fandom]] and the British representative of the [[Fortean Society]]. He won the first annual [[Hugo Award for Best Short Story]] in 1955 recognizing his humorous "[[Allamagoosa]]" as the year's best science fiction.<ref name=SFAwards/>

The 1962 novel ''[[The Great Explosion]]'' won a [[Prometheus Hall of Fame Award]] in 1985<ref name=SFAwards/>—the third naming of two works to the [[libertarian science fiction]] hall of fame. The 1957 novel ''Wasp'' has been a finalist for the honor, which is now limited to one work per year.<ref name=SFAwards/>

The [[EMP Museum#Science Fiction Hall of Fame|Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame]] inducted Russell in 2000, its fifth class of two deceased and two living writers.<ref name=sfhof-old/>

''Into Your Tent'', a thorough and detailed biography of Russell by John L. Ingham, was published in 2010 by Plantech (UK).<ref name="Ingham"/>

==Writings==
[[File:Other worlds science stories 195005.jpg|thumb|right|Russell's novelette "Dear Devil" was the cover story in the May 1950 issue  of ''[[Other Worlds (magazine)|Other Worlds Science Stories]]'']]
[[File:Fantastic 195808.jpg|thumb|right|Russell's essay "Satan's Footprints" was cover-featured on the August 1958 issue  of ''[[Fantastic (magazine)|Fantastic]]'']]
Russell's full-length fiction includes the following:
* ''[[Sinister Barrier]]'' (1939)
* ''[[Dreadful Sanctuary]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Sentinels From Space]]'' (1953), based on the earlier magazine story ''The Star Watchers'' (1951)
* ''[[Three to Conquer]]'' (1956), based on the earlier magazine serial ''Call Him Dead'' (1955)
* ''[[Men, Martians and Machines]]'' (1955), containing four related novellas
* ''[[Wasp (novel)|Wasp]]'' (1957)
* ''[[Next of Kin (novel)|Next of Kin]]'' (1959), published earlier as ''The Space Willies'' (1958)
* ''[[The Great Explosion]]'' (1962)
* ''[[With a Strange Device]]'' (1964), also published as ''The Mindwarpers''.

Russell also wrote a large number of shorter works, many of which have been reprinted in collections such as ''[[Deep Space (collection)|Deep Space]]'' (1954), ''Six Worlds Yonder'' (1958), ''Far Stars'' (1961), ''Dark Tides'' (1962) and ''Somewhere a Voice'' (1965). His short story "[[Allamagoosa]]"  (1955) won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story.<ref name="Ingham" />

Russell wrote numerous non-fiction essays on Fortean themes, some of which were collected in a compendium of Forteana entitled ''Great World Mysteries'' (1957). His second non-fiction book was ''The Rabble Rousers'' (1963), a sardonic look at human folly including the [[Dreyfus affair]] and the [[Florida land boom]]. He also wrote ''Lern Yerself Scouse: The ABZ of Scouse'' (1966) under the pseudonym "Linacre Lane".<ref name="Ingham" />

Two omnibus collections of Russell's science fiction are available from [[NESFA Press]]: ''Major Ingredients'' (2000), containing 30 of his short stories, and ''Entities'' (2001) containing five novels. [[John Pelan]]'s Midnight House published ''Dark Tides'', a collection of Russell's [[Horror fiction|horror]] and [[weird fiction]], in 2006.<ref name="sc">Scott Connors, Review of "''Darker Tides'' by Eric Frank Russell". ''Weird Tales'',October–November 2006. (p.13)</ref>

The 1995 novel ''Design for Great-Day'', published as by [[Alan Dean Foster]] and Eric Frank Russell, is an expansion by Foster of a 1953 short story of the same name by Russell.

==Writing style and themes==
Russell had an easy-going, colloquial writing style that was influenced in part by American "[[hard-boiled]]" detective fiction of the kind popularized by ''[[Black Mask (magazine)|Black Mask]]'' magazine.<ref name = "Carr">{{cite book |last=Carr |first=Terry |author-link=Terry Carr |title=Classic Science Fiction: The First Golden Age |year=1979 |publisher= [[Robson Books]] |isbn=0-86051-070-0}}</ref> Although British, Russell wrote predominantly for an American audience, and was often assumed to be American by readers.<ref name="Ashley"/>

Much of Russell's science fiction is based on what might be described as Fortean themes, with ''Sinister Barrier'' and ''Dreadful Sanctuary'' the most notable examples.<ref name = "Langford"/> Another common theme is the single resourceful human pitted against a ponderous alien [[bureaucracy]], as in the novels ''Wasp'' and ''Next of Kin'', as well as several shorter works.

Russell is sometimes categorized as a humorous writer, and [[Brian Aldiss]] describes him as John W. Campbell's "licensed jester".<ref name="Aldiss">{{cite book |last=Aldiss |first=Brian W. |title=Billion Year Spree |year=1973 |publisher= [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]] |isbn=0-297-76555-8}}</ref> However, Russell's humour generally has a satirical edge, often aimed at [[authority]] and bureaucracy in its various forms. On other occasions, for example in the short stories "Somewhere a Voice" and "The Army Comes to Venus", his work has a deeper and more serious tone, in which the [[spirituality|spiritual]] aspects of humanity's endeavours and aspirations shine through.

==Critical reception==
Scott Connors, reviewing Russell's book ''Darker Tides'', stated that "Russell's prose displays a rare sense of irony and wit...and does the reader the  compliment of presenting the story in an indirect fashion so that he has an  investment in the tale."<ref name="sc" /> [[Carl Sagan]] wrote that Russell's stories were examples of "desperately need[ed] exploration of alternative futures, both experimental and conceptual".<ref name="sagan19780528">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/28/archives/growing-up-with.html |title=Growing up with Science Fiction |last=Sagan |first=Carl |date=1978-05-28 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2018-12-12 |page=SM7 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Cultural influences==
{{Original research section|date=May 2020}}
Russell's short story "Jay Score" (1941) is unusual amongst the pulp fiction of its time in presenting a [[Black people|black]] character, the ship's doctor, without any [[Ethnic stereotype|racial stereotyping]]. Indeed, this story and its sequels (collected in ''[[Men, Martians and Machines]]'') may be considered an early example of the science fiction subgenre in which a spaceship is crewed by a [[Multiethnic society|multi-ethnic]], mixed human/non-human, complement (cf. the much later ''[[Star Trek]]'').<ref>{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Bud |title=Let Me Be Frank (or Welcome to the Allamagoosa Russell-Palooza!) |url=http://www.philsp.com/articles/pastmasters_13.html |website=Galactic Central |publisher=Phil Stephensen-Payne, Galactic Central Publications |access-date=9 February 2022}}</ref>

In 1970, Russell was paid £4689 by the [[The Beatles|Beatles]]' company [[Apple Corps]] for the motion picture rights to his novel ''Wasp'', the contract being signed on behalf of Apple by [[Ringo Starr]]. The film was never made, but it remained one of the most lucrative deals Russell ever made.<ref name="Ingham" />

==See also==
{{Portal |Speculative fiction }}
* "[[Study in Still Life]]" – story by Russell
* [[Golden Age of Science Fiction]]

==Notes==
{{notelist |50em}}

==References==
{{reflist |50em |refs=
<ref name=isfdb>
{{isfdb name |51}} (ISFDB). Retrieved 2013-04-20.</ref>
<ref name=isfdb-johnson>
[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?2096 "Leslie J. Johnson – Summary Bibliography"]. ISFDB. Retrieved 2013-04-20.</ref><!-- but ISFDB does not list the Letter by Johnson to Amazing that stimulated the Russell--Johnson friendship, we say -->

<!-- some awards refs -->
<ref name=SFAwards>
[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit113.html#4484 "Russell, Eric Frank"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025033219/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit113.html |date=2010-10-25 }}. ''The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index of Literary Nominees''. [[Locus Publications]]. Retrieved 2013-03-26.</ref>
<ref name=sfhof-old>
[http://www.midamericon.org/halloffame/ "Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521070009/http://www.midamericon.org/halloffame/ |date=May 21, 2013 }}. Mid American Science Fiction and Fantasy Conventions, Inc. Retrieved 2013-03-26. This was the official website of the hall of fame to 2004.</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |author=Jacob Edwards |year=2010 |title=Overlooked: the non-fiction of Eric Frank Russell |journal=[[Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine]] |volume=45 |pages=74–77}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{sfhof |951 | Eric Frank Russell}}
* {{isfdb name|51}}
* {{IBList|type=author|id=824|name=Eric Frank Russell}}
* [http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/russell_eric_frank Eric Frank Russell] at ''[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]''
* [http://www.maroney.org/hlavaty/documents/Eric_Frank_Russell.html Review of ''Major Ingredients'']
* [http://members.iinet.net.au/~parallax/efr "Shadow Man" fan site by Narrelle Harris]
* [http://www.philsp.com/articles/pastmasters_13.html Past Masters: Let Me Be Frank, or Welcome to the Allamagoosa Russell-Palooza] by Bud Webster, at Galactic Central
* ''[http://www.abelard.org/e-f-russell.htm And then there were none]'' (1951)—the internet host notes "Anarchy in action—an excellent model of an anarchist or free society"
{{Hugo Award Best Short Story 1955–1960}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Eric Frank}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Berkshire]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force airmen]]
[[Category:English short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:English horror writers]]
[[Category:English science fiction writers]]
[[Category:British weird fiction writers]]
[[Category:Fortean writers]]
[[Category:Hugo Award–winning writers]]
[[Category:People from Sandhurst, Berkshire]]
[[Category:Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:English male novelists]]