Marion Zimmer Bradley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Marion Eleanor Zimmer June 3, 1930 Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Died | September 25, 1999 (aged 69) Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Pen name | Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, Lee Chapman |
| Occupation | Novelist, editor |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley |
| Alma mater | Hardin-Simmons University (BA) |
| Genre | Fantasy, science fiction, science fantasy, historical fantasy |
| Notable works | The Mists of Avalon, the Darkover series |
| Spouse |
Robert Alden Bradley
(m. 1949; div. 1964) |
| Children | David Bradley, Moira Greyland, Mark Greyland |
| Website | |
| mzbworks | |
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series. She was noted for the feminist perspective in her writing.
Bradley began writing at the age of 17 and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hardin-Simmons University. She co-founded the Society for Creative Anachronism in 1966. She also served as the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series. She was posthumously awarded the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement in 2000.
Though Bradley remained popular during her lifetime her reputation was posthumously marred when in 2014 it was revealed by her children, daughter Moira Greyland and son Mark Greyland, that she was guilty of child sexual abuse, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children. Bradley's daughter Moira Greyland said that Bradley had not only been aware of Breen's child molestation activities but also sexually abused her. Many science fiction authors have since publicly condemned Bradley.