American science fiction writer Norton Andre: biography and creativity

Norton Andre is a great lady of science fiction, who has received a huge number of awards for her work throughout her writing career. It was a truly great woman. About one hundred and thirty full-fledged novels came out from under her pen, and she continued to write almost until her death (and she died at the deeply advanced age of 93).

Writer Biography

Norton Andre before the beginning of her writing career had a completely different name - Alice Maria Norton. She was born in 1912, February 17, in the United States (Ohio, Cleveland). Her father's name was Adalbert Friely Norton, and he owned a company that was engaged in sewing carpets. Her mother was Berta Stemm, she was a housewife, and it was her mother who later helped the writer correct mistakes in the works.

Little Alice was not the only child, she had a sister who was seventeen years older. Perhaps it was precisely because of this age difference that the sisters were not very close. Also, the future writer did not communicate with her peers, preferring reading books to them. It should be noted that in the Norton house this was given special attention. Each week, the family visited the local library, and Alice's mother began to read books and poems to her daughters from infancy. Already in the future, when the future writer went to school, her parents rewarded her with books for good study. All this had an impact on the future fate of the younger Norton.

While studying at school, Alice began to write her first stories, which were published in the school wall newspaper (she was a literary editor in it). It was at this time that her first book was published, which was published in 1938. Her further studies continued in 1930 at the Case Western Reserve University. She studied in it until 1932. In the same year, she went to work as a librarian at the Nottingham Library in Cleveland. She worked in it for almost twenty years.

She was then a reader for Martin Greenberg for eight years (Gnome Press). Having finished work with him, Norton was no longer looking for a permanent job, but continued to write books, fully devoting herself to this business. In 1966, the writer moved to Winter Park in Florida because of her health. Here she lived until 1997, after which she moved to Tennessee, to the city of Murfreesboro. It was here that she lived until the end of her days. The writer died in 2005, on the fourteenth of March. She was ninety-three years old.

Beginning of creative activity Norton

The first book that Norton published in 1934 was the war novel The Prince’s Command. On the advice of her publishers in the same year, the writer took the pseudonym Andre. They believed that this would attract more attention to the books that Norton published (let’s say, for that time, non-female suck). Andre Norton, whose books are so numerous, began to write science fiction novels in 1947. The first of them was the work “People of the Crater”. Since then, she has written over one hundred and thirty works.

Numerous writer awards

Norton Andre received many awards for his creative work. We list the most significant of them.

• In 1964, the writer became a nominee for the Hugo Prize for Best Novel (her work “The Witching World”, written a year earlier, was nominated).
• In 1965, Norton received a prize from the American Scout Association.
• In 1977 she became a laureate of the Hugo Prize ("Gandalf", "Grandmaster Fantasy").
• In 1979, the writer became a laureate of the Balrog Prize. The judges sentenced her for the merits of her whole life.
• In 1983, Norton became a nominee for the Balrog Award for professional achievement in fifty years of writing.
• In 1984, the writer became a winner of the Nebula Prize, Grandmaster.
• In 1987, she became a laureate of the World Fantasy Award.
• In 1997, the Hall of Fame of Science Fiction and Fanethesi.
• In 2002, she became a laureate of the Southeast Science Fiction Award for Services to the Genre.

In addition, the American Association of Science Fiction Writers awarded Andre Norton the title of Grand Master. Until today, she remains the only woman who received it.

The cycle of works “The Witching World”

It is believed that this cycle is one of the most famous that Andre Norton wrote. Books in it are numerous (more than thirty pieces). In addition, the cycle itself is divided into several series. Consider them.

• "Estkarp" "(The Witch of the Witching World", "Witching World", "Three Against the Witching World", "Web of the Witching World", "The Wizard of the Witching World", "Three of Swords", etc.).
• "Traditions of the witching world." This collection includes short stories “Falcon Blood”, “Spider Silk”, “Grimmerdale Toads”, “Sand Sisters”, “Legacy from the Sorn Mire”, “Sword of Disbelief”, “Changeling”.
• “High Hollek” (“Year of the Unicorn”, “Crystal Griffin”, “Tales of the Witching World”, “Belt of the Leopard”, “Curse of Zarstor”, “Griffin triumphs”, etc.).
• Also here enter the series “The Great Change”, which includes the “Secrets of the Witching World”.

Stargate Book Series

This series belongs to the combat science fiction cycle and consists of the following books:

• "Operation" Search in time. "
• "Crossroads of time."
• "Search at the crossroads of time."
• "Stargate" (the book was written in 1958).

Series of books “Free Traders”

This series of novels tells of the adventures of free traders who travel on their ship through the vast expanses of the vast universe. Each book tells about their adventures and ways to deal with enemies that meet on their way.

• "Exiles of the stars."
• "Flight to Yiktar."
• "Dangerous hunt."
• The Brotherhood of Shadows.
• "Moon of the three rings."

List of other works by Norton

Of course, the above series are far from all that Andre Norton has written in her entire writing career. There were many more. Let's look at some of them. Star Hunter tells of a little boy who disappeared during a space ship crash in the jungle. They started looking for him only after the news that he was the heir to a great fortune. But it’s very easy to replace a young man who has already grown up with another who is not an heir. You can read about all the adventures of these characters in the book “Star Hunter”.

Next, we list the most interesting books in order (series and books outside the series).

• Series “Queen of the Sun”. It included such a famous work as “Sargassos in space”, etc.
• The series “The Great Change” (it included the following works: “Port of the Dead Ships”, “The Exile”, “The Hope of the Falcon”, etc.).
• "A fan with opal eyes."
• "Aroma of magic", "Wind in a stone."
• The Iron Cage.
• "There is no night without stars."
• "The prince orders."
• "The son of a stellar man."
• "Treasures of the mysterious race" and many others.

Conclusion

As you can see, Norton Andre lived a rather eventful life and wrote a large number of works, which are read by numerous fans of the classics of this genre. If you want to read her books, then start with the most famous, you will surely like them.