Lawrence, Louise
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
Pseudonym of Elizabeth Rhoda Holden (1943-2013), UK author who began publishing Young Adult sf with Andra (1971), and who early became noted for the marked and sensitive intelligence of her settings and characters. Both of her novel series – the Wyndcliffe sequence, comprising The Wyndcliffe (1974) and Sing and Scatter Daisies (1977), and the Llandor sequence, comprising Journey Through Llandor (1995), The Road to Irriyan (1996) and The Shadow of Mordican (1997) – are Fantasy. Most of her singletons are, variously, sf. Notable examples include The Power of Stars (1972), in which an Extraterrestrial force transfixes human teenagers; Star Lord (1978; rev 1987), in which a boy protects the eponymous Alien from the government; Calling B for Butterfly (1982), a Disaster tale whose protagonists survive the destruction of their ocean liner by an Asteroid impact; Children of the Dust (1985), in which Mutant children begin, several decades after a vividly depicted World War Three, to transform a Post-Holocaust world through their powers of Telepathy; Ben-Harran's Castle (1992; vt Keeper of the Universe 1993), a Space Opera; and The Disinherited (1994), a Dystopia set in a Near Future Britain; or The Crowlings (1999), which depicts racial tensions (see Race in SF) on a colony planet (see Colonization of Other Worlds). Her shorter work is assembled in Extinction Is Forever and Other Stories (coll 1990). Lawrence's calm steeliness and unflinching attention to hard issues should be addressed in any current debate about the proper nature and audience of the Young Adult novel as a category. [JC]
see also: Stars.
Elizabeth Rhoda Holden
born Leatherhead, Surrey: 5 June 1943
died Kiltimagh, Ireland: 6 December 2013
works
series
Wyndcliffe
- The Wyndcliffe (New York: Harper and Row, 1974) [Wyndcliffe: hb/Antony Maitland]
- Sing and Scatter Daisies (New York: Harper and Row, 1977) [Wyndcliffe: hb/]
Llandor
- Journey Through Llandor (London: Collins, 1995) [Llandor: hb/]
- The Road to Irriyan (London: Collins, 1996) [Llandor: hb/]
- The Shadow of Mordican (London: Collins, 1997) [Llandor: hb/]
individual titles
- Andra (London: Collins, 1971) [hb/Antony Maitland]
- The Power of Stars (London: Collins, 1972) [hb/Antony Maitland]
- Star Lord (New York: Harper and Row, 1978) [hb/Ronald Himler]
- Star Lord (London: The Bodley Head, 1987) [rev of the above: hb/Keith Scaithe]
- The Earth Witch (New York: Harper and Row, 1981) [hb/Winslow Pinney Pels]
- Calling B for Butterfly (New York: Harper and Row, 1982) [hb/]
- The Dram Road (New York: Harper and Row, 1983) [hb/]
- Children of the Dust (London: The Bodley Head, 1985) [pb/Michael Heslop]
- Moonwind (London: The Bodley Head, 1986) [hb/]
- The Warriors of Taan (London: The Bodley Head, 1986) [hb/Nick Bantock]
- Ben-Harran's Castle (London: The Bodley Head, 1992) [hb/Mark Salwowski]
- Keeper of the Universe (New York: Clarion Books, 1993) [vt of the above: hb/Chris K Soentpiet]
- The Disinherited (London: The Bodley Head, 1994) [hb/George Smith]
- The Patchwork People (New York: Clarion Books, 1994) [vt of the above: hb/Paul Hunt]
- Dream-Weaver (London: Collins, 1996) [hb/Anton Kimball]
- The Crowlings (London: Collins, 1999) [hb/David Wyatt]
collections
- Extinction Is Forever and Other Stories (London: The Bodley Head, 1990) [coll: hb/Janet Woolley]
links
previous versions of this entry