A. Merritt 1884—1943

Abraham Grace Merritt – known by his byline, A. Merritt – was an American Sunday magazine editor and a writer of fantastic fiction. Merritt’s writings were heavily influenced by H. Rider Haggard, Robert W. Chambers, Helena Blavatsky and Gertrude Barrows Bennett, with Merritt having “emulated Bennett’s earlier style and themes.” His stories typically revolve around conventional pulp magazine themes: lost civilizations, hideous monsters, etc. His heroes are gallant Irishmen or Scandinavians, his villains treacherous Germans or Russians and his heroines often virginal, mysterious and scantily clad. What sets Merritt apart from the typical pulp author, however, is his lush, florid prose style and his exhaustive, at times exhausting, penchant for adjective-laden detail. Merritt’s fondness for micro-description nicely complements the pointillistic style of Bok’s illustrations. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted Merritt in 1999.