de Camp, L Sprague
Entry updated 22 July 2024. Tagged: Author, Critic, Editor.
(1907-2000) US author, married from 1939 until her death early in 2000 to Catherine Adelaide Crook (see Catherine Crook de Camp), who collaborated on a number of his books, sometimes without printed credit, though always freely acknowledged by de Camp; though she was always actively involved in his career, the two were increasingly seen after about 1960 to be genuine collaborators. De Camp was educated at the California Institute of Technology, where he studied aeronautical engineering, and at Stevens Institute of Technology, where he gained a master's degree in 1933. He went to work for a company dealing with patenting, and his first published work was a co-written textbook on the subject. He then met P Schuyler Miller, with whom he collaborated on a novel, which failed to find a publisher for several years: Genus Homo (March 1941 Super Science Stories; exp 1950), signed by both authors, is a Sleepers Awake tale whose protagonists find that, a million years hence, the human species has been supplanted by apes (see Apes as Human; Satire). De Camp's first published story was "The Isolinguals" (September 1937 Astounding), which appeared before the arrival of John W Campbell Jr as Astounding editor; but when that happened the two men proved highly compatible, and de Camp soon became a central figure of the Golden Age of SF, writing prolifically for Astounding over the next few years (on one occasion using the pseudonym Lyman R Lyon). His contributions included the Johnny Black series about an intelligent, Uplifted bear: "The Command" (October 1938 Astounding), "The Incorrigible" (January 1939 Astounding), "The Emancipated" (March 1940 Astounding) and "The Exhalted" (November 1940 Astounding). Some of the better stories from this period were collected in The Best of L. Sprague de Camp (coll 1978).
It was, however, the appearance in 1939 of Astounding's fantasy companion Unknown which stimulated de Camp's most notable early work, including Lest Darkness Fall (December 1939 Unknown; exp 1941; rev 1949), in which an involuntary time-traveller to sixth-century Rome attempts to prevent the onset of the Dark Ages; this was the most accomplished early excursion into History in magazine sf, and is regarded as a classic. Other contributions to Unknown included "None but Lucifer" (September 1939 Unknown) with H L Gold; Solomon's Stone (June 1942 Unknown; 1956); the long title story of Divide and Rule (coll 1948); the title story alone being republished as Divide and Rule (April-May 1939 Unknown as "Divide and Rule!"; 1990 chap dos); "The Wheels of If" (October 1940 Unknown) in The Wheels of If, And Other Science-Fiction (coll 1948), a Parallel-Worlds story, also cited below in reissued form; and The Undesired Princess (coll 1951), the title story "The Undesired Princess" (February 1942 Unknown) alone being republished in The Undesired Princess and The Enchanted Bunny (anth 1990), the second story being by David A Drake.
De Camp was, unusually, an author who seemed equally comfortable solo and in collaboration. Over and above the huge influence of his wife, he was most successful in his collaborations with Fletcher Pratt, whom he met in 1939. Pratt conceived the idea behind their highly successful Incomplete Enchanter series of humorous fantasies in which the protagonist, Harold Shea, is transported into a series of Parallel Worlds based on various myths and legends (see Science and Sorcery). As usual with de Camp, the publication sequence is complex. The main titles – all credited to both authors – are: The Incomplete Enchanter (May, August 1940 Unknown as "The Roaring Trumpet" and "The Mathematics of Magic"; coll of linked stories 1941; vt The Incompleat Enchanter 1979), The Castle of Iron (April 1941 Unknown; exp 1950) and Wall of Serpents (June 1953 Fantasy Fiction, 1954 Beyond #9 as "The Wall of Serpents" and "The Green Magician"; coll of linked stories 1960; vt The Enchanter Compleated 1980). After separate publication, the first two titles were initially assembled as The Compleat Enchanter: The Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea (omni 1975), and all three were eventually put together as The Intrepid Enchanter (omni 1988) – for the complex sequence of variant titles, all very similar, see Checklist. Without the involvement of Pratt, who died in 1956, Sir Harold and the Gnome King (in World Fantasy Convention Program Book, anth 1990; 1991 chap) and The Exotic Enchanter (coll 1995) with Christopher Stasheff were subsequently added to the Enchanter canon, de Camp's contribution to the latter being a novelette, "Sir Harold of Zodanga"; these late solo works, plus all the stories with Pratt, were assembled in the mistitled The Mathematics of Magic: The Enchanter Stories of de Camp and Pratt (coll 2007). Other collaborations with Pratt were The Land of Unreason (October 1941 Unknown; 1942) and The Carnelian Cube: A Humorous Fantasy (1948), the latter being published several years after it was written. In 1950, de Camp and Pratt (whom see for details) began their Gavagan's Bar series of Club Stories, assembled in Tales From Gavagan's Bar (coll 1953; exp 1978).
After joining the US Naval Reserve in 1942, de Camp spent the war working in the Philadelphia Naval Yard alongside Isaac Asimov and Robert A Heinlein. Afterwards he published a few articles, but hardly any new fiction until "The Animal-Cracker Plot" (July 1949 Astounding) introduced his Viagens Interplanetarias stories, a loosely linked series set in a future where Brazil has become the dominant world power, the stories themselves being sited mainly on three worlds which circle the star Tau Ceti and are named after the Hindu gods Vishnu, Ganesha and Krishna; the planet Krishna was a romantically barbarian world on which de Camp could set, as sf, the kind of Planetary Romances he had previously written as fantasy, the market for pure fantasy having disappeared with Unknown in 1943. Other planets circling other stars included Osiris, Isis and Thoth. Many of the short stories in the series were included in The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens (coll 1953); others appeared in Sprague de Camp's New Anthology of Science Fiction (coll 1953); "The Virgin of Zesh" (February 1953 Thrilling Wonder) was assembled together with the unconnected The Wheels of If (October 1940 Unknown; 1990 chap dos) (see separate citing above) in The Virgin and the Wheels (coll 1976). Rogue Queen (1951), a novel in the series, depicts a matriarchal humanoid society based on a hive structure; it is, with Lest Darkness Fall, de Camp's most highly regarded sf work. The remaining novels, an internal series all set on Krishna, were Cosmic Manhunt (August-September 1949 Astounding as "The Queen of Zamba"; 1954 dos; vt A Planet Called Krishna 1966; with restored text and with "Perpetual Motion" [September/October 1950 Future Science Fiction as "Wide-Open Planet"] added, rev vt as coll The Queen of Zamba 1977); The Search for Zei (October-November 1950 Astounding as the first half of "The Hand of Zei"; 1962; vt The Floating Continent: The Second Volume in the Famous Krishna Series 1966) and The Hand of Zei (December 1950-January 1951 Astounding as the second half of "The Hand of Zei"; 1963; cut 1963), both titles finally being superseded by publication of the full original novel, The Hand of Zei (October 1950-January 1951 Astounding; 1982); The Tower of Zanid (May-August 1958 Science Fiction Stories; cut 1958; with "The Virgin of Zesh" added, vt as coll The Virgin of Zesh/The Tower of Zanid 1983); The Hostage of Zir (1977); The Bones of Zora (1983) with Catherine Crook de Camp; and The Swords of Zinjaban (1991) with Catherine Crook de Camp. They contain a blend of intelligent, exotic adventure and wry humour characteristic of de Camp's better work, though they do not explore any too deeply either the romantic or the human-condition ironies available to aspiring authors of the Planetary Romance.
De Camp was in any case not to write much more sf, his later career increasingly being devoted to outright fantasy and to Sword and Sorcery. He had gained an interest in the latter category through reading Robert E Howard's Conan stories, and worked extensively on editing and adding to that series. Tales of Conan (coll 1955; vt Conan: The Flame Knife 1981) consists of unfinished Howard manuscripts converted into Conan stories and completed by de Camp (for remaining titles, see listing below). His nonfiction writings on the sword-and-sorcery genre have been published as The Conan Reader (coll 1968), Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers (1976) and Blond Barbarians and Noble Savages (1975 chap). He also edited several theme anthologies, beginning with Swords and Sorcery (anth 1963), and co-edited the critical anthologies The Conan Swordbook (anth 1969) and The Conan Grimoire (anth 1972), both with George H Scithers. De Camp's own first sword-and-sorcery effort was the Pusadian sequence of tales assembled as The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales (coll 1953); the title novel was later published alone as The Tritonian Ring (Winter 1951 Two Complete Science-Adventure Books; 1968). Later he wrote several stories set in the imaginary world of Novaria: The Goblin Tower (1968), which is his most substantial novel of this type, The Clocks of Iraz (1971), The Fallible Fiend (December 1972-February 1973 Fantastic: 1973), The Unbeheaded King (1983) and The Honorable Barbarian (1989) – the first, second and fourth of these five being assembled as The Reluctant King (omni 1984).
De Camp's most notable sf writings after about 1950 were stories like The Glory that Was (April 1952 Startling; 1960) and "A Gun for Dinosaur" (March 1956 Galaxy), the Dinosaur title story of A Gun for Dinosaur, And Other Imaginative Tales (coll 1963), which also included "Aristotle and the Gun" (February 1958 Astounding). The first and third of these tales use history themes, in the case of the third combined with Time Travel, in a manner similar to Lest Darkness Fall; the second is a straightforward time-travel story. With Willy Ley, De Camp wrote Lands Beyond (1952), which describes imagined lands (including Atlantis) visited in the course of various Fantastic Voyages; it won the International Fantasy Award for 1953. Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature (1954) broadens the scope of the inquiry. He also produced one of the earliest books about modern sf, Science Fiction Handbook (1953; rev 1975) with Catherine Crook de Camp; a useful compendium of information and advice for aspiring writers in its original edition, it gained little from its subsequent revision – indeed, the revised version omitted some material of interest. Otherwise he wrote historical novels and nonfiction works, including a book on Magic with his wife: Spirits, Stars and Spells: The Profits and Perils of Magic (1966). His opinions about the nature of Fantasy and the appropriate decorum necessary to write within the genre were expressed in an energetic, if sometimes reactionary, fashion in his many articles. He also wrote definitive lives of H P Lovecraft – Lovecraft: A Biography (1975; cut 1976) – and of Robert E Howard – Dark Valley Destiny: The Life of Robert E. Howard (1983) with Catherine Crook de Camp and Jane Whittington Griffin (? -1983), the latter book having been preceded by The Miscast Barbarian: A Biography of Robert E Howard (1906-1936) (1975 chap). In the 1980s, and into his own ninth decade, more and more often in explicit collaboration with his wife, he maintained a remarkable reputation for consistency of output. He was given the Gandalf (Grand Master) Award for 1976, the SFWA Grand Master Award for 1978, the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement in 1984, and the Pilgrim Award in 1998. His autobiography, Time & Chance: An Autobiography (1996), which won a Hugo, reflects little in the way of shadows, though it is occasionally stiff-tongued; his last work seemed as agelessly smiling as the first Harold Shea tales 60 years earlier. [MJE/JC]
see also: Edisonade; End of the World; Evolution; Finland; Gamebook; GURPS; Hive Minds; Humour; Invention; Linguistics; Longevity in Writers; Mathematics; Nuclear Energy; Politics; Publishing; Science Fantasy; Slow Glass; Sociology; Time Paradoxes.
Lyon Sprague de Camp
born New York: 27 November 1907
died Plano, Texas: 6 November 2000
works
series
Incomplete Enchanter
- The Incomplete Enchanter (New York: Henry Holt, 1941) with Fletcher Pratt [coll of linked stories: Incomplete Enchanter: hb/Boris Artzybasheff]
- The Incompleat Enchanter (London: Sphere, 1979) with Fletcher Pratt [coll of linked stories: vt of the above: Incomplete Enchanter: pb/Peter Jones]
- The Castle of Iron (New York: Gnome Press, 1950) with Fletcher Pratt [Incomplete Enchanter: hb/Hannes Bok]
- The Compleat Enchanter: The Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 1975) with Fletcher Pratt [omni of the above two: Incomplete Enchanter: hb/D K Stone]
- The Wall of Serpents (New York: Avalon Books, 1960) with Fletcher Pratt [coll of linked stories: Incomplete Enchanter: hb/Ed Emshwiller]
- The Enchanter Compleated (London: Sphere Books, 1980) with Fletcher Pratt [coll of linked stories: vt of the above: Incomplete Enchanter: pb/Peter A Jones]
- The Intrepid Enchanter: The Complete Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea (London: Sphere Books, 1988) with Fletcher Pratt [omni of the above three: Incomplete Enchanter: pb/Ian Miller]
- The Complete Compleat Enchanter (New York: Baen Books, 1989) with Fletcher Pratt [omni: vt of the above: Incomplete Enchanter: pb/Tom Kidd]
- The Compleat Enchanter (London: Orion/Millennium, 2000) with Fletcher Pratt [omni: vt of the above: contents differ from The Compleat Enchanter: The Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea above: Incomplete Enchanter: pb/Edd Cartier]
- The Complete Compleat Enchanter (New York: Baen Books, 1989) with Fletcher Pratt [omni: vt of the above: Incomplete Enchanter: pb/Tom Kidd]
- Sir Harold and the Gnome King (Holicong, Pennsylvania: Wildside Press, 1991) [story: chap: first appeared in World Fantasy Convention Program Book (anth 1990): Incomplete Enchanter: hb/nonpictorial]
- The Exotic Enchanter (New York: Baen Books, 1995) with Christopher Stasheff [coll: Incomplete Enchanter: pb/Ruth Sanderson]
- The Mathematics of Magic: The Enchanter Stories of de Camp and Pratt (Framingham, Massachusetts: The NESFA Press, 2007) [omni/coll: assembling all de Camp/Pratt collaborations above plus Sir Harold and the Gnome King and "Sir Harold of Zodanga" from The Exotic Enchanter: Incomplete Enchanter: hb/Marc Fishman]
Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna
- The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1951) [coll: Viagens Interplanetarias: hb/Herbstman]
- Sprague de Camp's New Anthology of Science Fiction (London: Hamilton and Co, 1954) [coll: some contents not part of series: Viagens Interplanetarias: hb/John Richards]
- The Virgin and the Wheels (New York: Popular Library, 1976) [coll: containing "The Virgin of Zesh", first appeared February 1953 in Thrilling Wonder: Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: pb/Don Maitz]
- Rogue Queen (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1951) [Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: hb/Richard Powers]
- Cosmic Manhunt (New York: Ace Books, 1954) [dos: first version appeared August-September 1949 Astounding as "The Queen of Zamba": Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: pb/Jack Gaughan]
- A Planet Called Krishna (London: Compact Books, 1966) [vt of the above: Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: pb/]
- The Queen of Zamba (New York: Dale Books, 1977) [rev vt of the above as coll: text of "The Queen of Zamba" here restored: plus other material: Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: pb/Jack Gaughan]
- The Search for Zei (New York: Avalon Books, 1962) [first appeared October-November 1950 Astounding as the first half of "The Hand of Zei": Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: hb/Ed Emshwiller]
- The Floating Continent: The Second Volume in the Famous Krishna Series (London: Compact Books, 1966) [vt of the above: Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: pb/Keith Roberts]
- The Hand of Zei (New York: Avalon Books, 1963) [first appeared December 1950-January 1951 Astounding as the second half of "The Hand of Zei": Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: hb/Ed Emshwiller]
- The Hand of Zei (New York: Ace Books, 1963) [dos: cut version of the above: with reprint of The Search for Zei above: Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: pb/Ed Emshwiller]
- The Hand of Zei (King of Prussia, Pennsylvania: Owlswick Press, 1981) [omni assembling The Search for Zei and the above: technically an omni but also describable as the first book publication of the full original novel as first appeared October 1950-January 1951 Astounding: Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: hb/Kelly Freas and Edd Cartier]
- The Tower of Zanid (New York: Avalon Books, 1958) [first appeared May-August 1958 Science Fiction Stories: Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: hb/Ric Binkley]
- The Virgin of Zesh/The Tower of Zanid (New York: Ace Books, 1983) [rev vt as coll: Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: pb/Paul Alexander]
- The Hostage of Zir (New York: Berkley Publishing Corporation, 1977) [Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: hb/J Harston]
- The Prisoner of Zhamanak (Huntington Woods, Maryland: Phantasia Press, 1982) [Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: hb/Victoria Poyser]
- The Bones of Zora (West Bloomfield, Michigan: Phantasia Press, 1983) with Catherine Crook de Camp [Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: hb/Victoria Poyser]
- The Swords of Zinjaban (New York: Baen Books, 1991) with Catherine Crook de Camp [Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: pb/Tom Kidd]
- The Venom Trees of Sunga (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1992) [Viagens Interplanetarias/Krishna: pb/Darrell K Sweet]
Pusadian
- The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1953) [coll: Pusadian: hb/]
- The Tritonian Ring (New York: Paperback Library, 1968) [cut vt of the above: publishing the title novel only: Pusadian: pb/Frank Frazetta]
Conan
As the raison d'etre of these works is to fit consistently into the gaps in Robert E Howard's original sequence, the listing below is given in terms of internal chronology rather than publication date.
- Conan (New York: Lancer Books, 1967) with Lin Carter and Robert E Howard [coll: Conan: pb/Frank Frazetta]
- Tales of Conan (New York: Gnome Press, 1955) with Robert E Howard [coll: Conan: pb/Ed Emshwiller]
- Conan: The Flame Knife (New York: Ace Books, 1981) with Robert E Howard [coll: vt of the above: Conan: pb/Sanjulian]
- Conan of Cimmeria (New York: Lancer Books, 1969) with Lin Carter and Robert E Howard [coll: Conan: pb/Frank Frazetta]
- Conan the Freebooter (New York: Lancer Books, 1968) with Robert E Howard [coll: Conan: pb/John Duillo]
- The Conan Chronicles (London: Orbit, 1989) with Lin Carter and Robert E Howard [omni of the above three: Conan: pb/Blas Gallego]
- Conan the Wanderer (New York: Lancer Books, 1968) with Lin Carter and Robert E Howard [coll: Conan: pb/John Duillo]
- Conan the Adventurer (New York: Lancer Books, 1966) with Robert E Howard [anth: Conan: pb/Frank Frazetta]
- Conan the Buccaneer (New York: Lancer Books, 1971) with Lin Carter [Conan: pb/Frank Frazetta]
- The Conan Chronicles 2 (London: Orbit, 1990) with Lin Carter and Robert E Howard [omni of the above three: Conan: pb/Blas Gallego]
- Conan the Warrior (New York: Lancer Books, 1967) [anth: Conan: pb/Frank Frazetta]
- Conan the Usurper (New York: Lancer Books, 1967) with Robert E Howard [anth: Conan: pb/Frank Frazetta]
- The Return of Conan (New York: Gnome Press, 1957) with Bjorn Nyberg [Conan: hb/Wallace Wood]
- Conan the Avenger (New York: Lancer Books, 1968) with Robert E Howard and Bjorn Nyberg [vt of the above with an additional essay by Howard: Conan: pb/Frank Frazetta]
- Conan of Aquilonia (New York: Prestige Books, 1977) with Lin Carter and Robert E Howard [coll: Conan: pb/Boris Vallejo]
- Conan of the Isles (New York: Lancer Books, 1968) with Lin Carter [Conan: pb/John Duillo]
- Conan the Swordsman (New York: Bantam Books, 1978) with Lin Carter and Bjorn Nyberg [Conan: pb/Darrel Greene]
- Conan the Liberator (New York: Bantam Books, 1979) with Lin Carter [Conan: pb/Bob Larkin]
- The Blade of Conan (New York: Ace Books, 1979) [nonfiction: anth: Conan: pb/Sanjulian]
- Conan and the Spider God (New York: Ace Books, 1980) [Conan: illus/Tim Kirk: pb/]
- Sagas of Conan (New York: Tor, 2004) with Lin Carter and Bjorn Nyberg (variously) [omni of the above three: Conan: pb/Vladimir Nenov]
- The Spell of Conan (New York: Ace Books, 1980) [nonfiction (mostly): anth: Conan: pb/Virgil Finlay]
- The Treasure of Tranicos (New York: Ace Books, 1980) with Robert E Howard [Conan: illus/Esteban Marato: pb/Sanjulian]
additional Conan titles
- The Conan Reader (Baltimore, Maryland: Mirage, 1968) [nonfiction: anth: Conan: pb/Bernie Wrightson]
- The Conan Swordbook: 27 Examples of Heroic Fiction (Baltimore, Maryland: Mirage Press, 1969) with George H Scithers [anth: Conan: hb/George Barr]
- The Conan Grimoire (Baltimore, Maryland: Mirage Press, 1972) with George H Scithers [anth: Conan: hb/Bernie Wrightson]
- Conan the Barbarian (New York: Bantam Books, 1982) with Lin Carter [tie: to the 1982 film: Conan: pb/Renato Casaro]
Novaria
- The Goblin Tower (New York: Pyramid Books, 1968) [Novaria: pb/Jeff Jones]
- The Clocks of Iraz (New York: Pyramid Books, 1971) [Novaria: pb/Jeff Jones]
- The Fallible Fiend (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1973) [first appeared December 1972-February 1973 Fantastic: Novaria: pb/uncredited]
- The Unbeheaded King (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1983) [Novaria: hb/Darrell K Sweet]
- The Reluctant King (Garden City, New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1984) [omni of the above plus the first and second titles in the series: Novaria: hb/Ron Walotsky]
- The Honorable Barbarian (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1989) [Novaria: hb/Darrell K Sweet]
Incorporated Knight
- The Incorporated Knight (West Bloomfield, Michigan: Phantasia Press, 1987) with Catherine Crook de Camp [Incorporated Knight: hb/George Barr]
- The Pixilated Peeress (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1991) with Catherine Crook de Camp [Incorporated Knight: hb/Romas Kukalis]
individual titles (selected)
- Lest Darkness Fall (New York: Henry Holt, 1941) [hb/S M Adler and H Lubalin]
- Lest Darkness Fall (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Prime Press, 1949) [rev of the above: hb/two covers: Robert Tschirky and Hannes Bok]
- The Land of Unreason (New York: Henry Holt, 1942) with Fletcher Pratt [hb/Boris Artzybasheff]
- The Carnelian Cube: A Humorous Fantasy (New York: The Gnome Press, 1948) with Fletcher Pratt [hb/David A Kyle]
- Genus Homo (Reading, Pennsylvania: Fantasy Press, 1950) with P Schuyler Miller [first version appeared March 1941 Super Science Novels (see Super Science Stories): hb/Edd Cartier]
- The Undesired Princess (Los Angeles, California: Fantasy Publishing Company, 1951) [coll: title story first appeared February 1942 Unknown: hb/Laura Ruth Crozetti]
- Fantasy Twin (Los Angeles, California: Fantasy Publishing Company, 1953) with Stanley G Weinbaum [omni/anth of the above bound with The Dark Other (1950) by Weinbaum: hb/Laura Ruth Crozetti]
- Solomon's Stone (New York: Avalon Books, 1957) [first appeared June 1942 Unknown: hb/Ric Binkley]
- An Elephant for Aristotle (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1958) [hb/Alice Smith]
- The Glory that Was (New York: Avalon Books, 1960) [first appeared April 1952 Startling: hb/Ed Emshwiller]
- The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1961) [hb/Charles McCurry]
- The Great Fetish (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1978) [hb/Gary Friedman]
- The Stones of Nomuru (Norfolk, Virginia: The Donning Co, 1988) with Catherine Crook de Camp [hb/]
- None But Lucifer (Nevada City, Nevada: Gateways Books and Tapes, 2002) with H L Gold [first version appeared September 1939 Unknown: second version appeared March-July 1954 Galaxy: pb/E J Gold]
- Wide-Open Planet (Medford, Oregon: Armchair Fiction, 2013) [dos: first appeared September-October 1950 Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories: pb/Milton Luros]
collections and stories (selected)
- The Wheels of If (Chicago, Illinois: Shasta Publishers, 1948) [coll: hb/Hannes Bok]
- The Wheels of If (New York: Tor, 1990) [chap: dos: title story only from the above collection: pb/Joe Burleson]
- Divide and Rule, and The Stolen Dormouse (Reading, Pennsylvania: Fantasy Press, 1948) [coll: hb/A J Donnell]
- Divide and Rule (New York: Tor, 1990) [story: chap: dos: first appeared April-May 1939 Unknown: pb/A C Farley]
- Tales from Gavagan's Bar (New York: Twayne Publishing, 1953) with Fletcher Pratt [coll: hb/Inga Pratt]
- Tales from Gavagan's Bar (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Owlswick Press, 1978) [coll: exp of the above: hb/Tim Kirk]
- A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1963) [coll: hb/Gilda Kuhlman]
- The Reluctant Shaman and Other Fantastic Tales (New York: Pyramid Books, 1970) [coll: pb/Ralph Brillhart]
- Scribblings (Boston, Massachusetts: The NESFA Press, 1972) [coll: chap: fiction, essays and poems: hb/L Sprague de Camp]
- The Best of L Sprague de Camp (Garden City, New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1978) [coll: hb/Richard V Corben]
- The Purple Pterodactyls: The Adventures of W. Wilson Newbury, Ensorcelled Financier (Huntington Woods, Michigan: Phantasia Press, 1979) [coll of linked stories: hb/Vaclar Vaca]
- Footprints on Sand: A Literary Sampler (Chicago, Illinois: Advent: Publishers, 1981) with Catherine Crook de Camp [coll: hb/C H Burnett]
- Rivers of Time: The Adventures of Reginald Rivers (New York: Baen Books, 1993) [coll of linked stories: pb/Bob Walters]
- Aristotle and the Gun and Other Stories (Waterville, Maine: Five Star, 2002) [coll: hb/Ken Barr]
- Years in the Making: The Time Travel Stories of L Sprague de Camp (Framingham, Massachusetts: NESFA Press, 2005) [coll: hb/Bob Eggleton]
- The Last Drop with L Ron Hubbard (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2008) [story: ebook: first appeared November 1941 Astonishing Stories: de Camp credited only on copyright page: na/original Astonishing cover, uncredited]
poetry
- Demons and Dinosaurs (Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House, 1970) [poetry: coll: chap: hb/Frank Utpatel]
- Phantoms and Fancies (Baltimore, Maryland: Mirage Press, 1972) [poetry: coll: chap: pb/Tim Kirk]
- Heroes & Hobgoblins (West Kingston, Rhode Island: Donald M Grant, 1981) [poetry: coll: hb/Tim Kirk]
works as editor
- Swords and Sorcery: Stories of Heroic Fantasy (New York: Pyramid Books, 1963) [anth: pb/Virgil Finlay]
- The Spell of Seven: Stories of Heroic Fantasy (New York: Pyramid Books, 1965) [anth: pb/Virgil Finlay]
- The Fantastic Swordsmen (New York: Pyramid Books, 1967) [anth: pb/Jack Gaughan]
- Warlocks and Warriors (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1970) [anth: hb/Jim Steranko]
- 3000 Years of Fantasy and Science Fiction (New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1972) with Catherine Crook de Camp [anth: hb/Emanuel Schongut]
- Tales Beyond Time, from Fantasy to Science Fiction (New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1973) with Catherine Crook de Camp [anth: hb/Ati Forberg]
- Down in the Bottomlands and Other Places (New York: Baen Books, 1999) with Harry Turtledove [anth: pb/Larry Elmore]
nonfiction (highly selected)
- Lands Beyond (New York: Rinehart and Company, 1952) with Willy Ley [nonfiction: awarded an International Fantasy Award: hb/Charles Skaggs]
- Science-Fiction Handbook: The Writing of Imaginative Fiction (New York: Hermitage House, 1953) [nonfiction: hb/uncredited]
- Science-Fiction Handbook, Revised (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Owlswick Press, 1975) with Catherine Crook de Camp [nonfiction: rev vt of the above: hb/Don Simpson]
- Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature (New York: Gnome Press, 1954) [nonfiction: coll: one essay on Atlantis: hb/Ric Binkley]
- Spirits, Stars and Spells: The Profits and Perils of Magic (New York: Canaveral Press, 1966) with Catherine Crook de Camp [nonfiction: hb/]
- The Day of the Dinosaur (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1968) [nonfiction: hb/]
- Blond Barbarians and Noble Savages (Baltimore, Maryland: T-K Graphics, 1975) [nonfiction: coll: chap: pb/James Shull]
- Lovecraft: A Biography (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1975) [nonfiction: H P Lovecraft: hb/Nicholas Gaetano]
- The Miscast Barbarian: A Biography of Robert E Howard (1906-1936) (Saddle River, New Jersey: Gerry de la Ree, 1975) [nonfiction: chap: Robert E Howard: pb/Charles McGill]
- Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy (Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House, 1976) [nonfiction: coll: hb/Tim Kirk]
- The Ragged Edge of Science (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Owlswick Press, 1980) [nonfiction: coll: hb/Don Simpson]
- Dark Valley Destiny: The Life of Robert E Howard (New York: Bluejay Books, 1983) with Catherine Crook de Camp and Jane Whittington Griffin [nonfiction: remotely based on The Miscast Barbarian above: Robert E Howard: hb/Kevin Eugene Johnson]
- Time & Chance: An Autobiography (Hampton Falls, New Hampshire: Donald M Grant, 1996) [nonfiction: hb/Kelly Freas]
further reading
- Lest Darkness Fall and Related Stories (Rockville, Maryland: Phoenix Pick, 2011) [anth: original story plus tributes: pb/]
- Lest Darkness Fall and Timeless Tales Written in Tribute (Rockville, Maryland: CAEZIK SF and Fantasy, 2021) [anth: exp of the above: hb/]
about the author
- Sam Moskowitz. "L. Sprague de Camp" in Seekers of Tomorrow: Masters of Modern Science Fiction (Cleveland, Ohio: World Publishing Co, 1966) [nonfiction: coll: hb/]
- Lin Carter. "Neomythology" as introduction to Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy (Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House, 1976) [nonfiction: coll: as above: hb/Tim Kirk]
- Charlotte Laughlin and Daniel J H Levack. De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography (San Francisco, California, and Columbia, Pennsylvania: Underwood-Miller, 1983) [bibliography: hb/nonpictorial]
links
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