I now repeat the message that bounced. I too loved
and admired Judy.
At 01:48 9/14/97 -0700, you wrote:
>At 01:42 AM 9/14/97 -0500, you wrote:
>>I'm sorry to hear of the passing of Ms. Merril. And I mean to sound
>>ignorant, but could someone please give me some of the titles of the
>>books that she has written? I don't remember having read her and I
>>would like to remedy that as soon as I can. Thank you in advance to
>>anyone that can help me.
>
>Judith published very little fiction after 1960. Her story "That Only a
>Mother" is quite famous. Her short fiction has been collected several times,
>notably in a 1976 Warner "The Best of Judith Merril" and a 1985 "Judith
>Merril Omnibus". I believe this is her best work.
>
>Her first novel, "Shadow on the Hearth" (1950), is a remarkable story of
>nuclear holocaust, told from the point of view of a housewife.
--snip--
Judy once explained to me that she was forced by her hardcover publisher
to change the ending of _Shadow on the Hearth_. She had killed off the
husband virtually within sight of his home (by the self-appointed vigilante
group that had menaced the wife). Publisher found this too grim. Judy said,
much more realistic -- and set up by the narrative. Publisher won.
The book did come out with her ending (I believe in Britain) but by the
time we talked together (ca. 1986), she didn't have a copy herself, not even
for her Spaced Out library. I hope she found one before she left us.
Martha Bartter
Truman State University
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