 First edition | |
| Author | Robert C. O'Brien |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Larry Rostant |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Adult, science fiction |
| Published | 1974 (G K Hall) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Hardback, paperback, e-book |
| Pages | 192 (276 in hardback version) |
| ISBN | 978-1-4169-3921-4 (paperback) |
Z for Zachariah is a post-apocalyptic science-fiction novel by Robert C. O'Brien that was published posthumously in 1974. The name Robert C. O'Brien was the pen name used by Robert Leslie Conly. After the author's death in March 1973, his wife Sally M. Conly and daughter Jane Leslie Conly completed the work, guided by his notes.[1] Set in the continental territory of the United States, it is written from the first-person perspective as the diary of sixteen-year-old Ann Burden. Burden has survived nuclear war and nerve gas by living in a small valley with an isolated microclimate.
According to Sally Conly in summer 1972, Z for Zachariah would be her husband's "second adult novel" following the months-old science-fiction thriller A Report from Group 17.[2] O'Brien had previously established himself as a children's writer with novels The Silver Crown (1968) and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (1971). In the event, Z for Zachariah was a runner-up for the 1976 Jane Addams Children's Book Award[3][4] and it won the Edgar Award for best mystery fiction in the juvenile category.
- ^ "About the Author". O'Brien, Robert C. Z for Zachariah [1974]. New York: Simon Pulse. 2007.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
sallywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Janeaddamspeace.org" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ Cullinan, Bernice E. and Diane Goetz. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. p. 598. ISBN 0826415164