A. Bertram Chandler
(March 28, 1912 – June 6, 1984)
Arthur Bertram Chandler was a British-born fan and writer who lived in Australia from 1956. Amazing Stories (July 1927) published a letter from "A. B. Chandler, Beccles, England" claiming "to have read all the leading English writers of this [genre], but your magazine has introduced me to their American rivals"; he also mentioned being well-versed in Science and Invention.[1] He was a member of the Cosmos Club (CSC) from 1946.
Chandler was GoH at the 1948 Whitcon and much later Chicon IV, the 1982 Worldcon. In 1996, he was nominated for the 1946 Best Novella Retro Hugo for "Giant Killer" (Astounding, October 1945).
George Locke in Prolapse 11 recalled that Chandler would come to the London Circle meetings with his wife Joan and eldest daughter Penny Chandler; the two continued even after he moved to Australia. (This family split resulted in divorce and Chandler's remarriage in 1962.)[2] The youngest daughter Jennifer Lynn married Ramsey Campbell.
He began publishing SF with "'This Means War!'" in Astounding (May 1944). A merchant marine officer, Chandler drew upon his experiences at sea to write a series of space operas set in the Rim Worlds at the edge of interstellar civilization during a period of human expansion, beginning with "To Run the Rim" in Amazing (January, 1959). He used the pseudonyms of George Whitley, John Grimes, and Andrew Dunstan. Whitley appears as a character in Arthur C. Clarke's Tales from the White Hart, a collection of stories loosely inspired by the London Circle meetings at the White Horse Tavern.
His many novels starting with The Rim of Space (1961) included Beyond the Galactic Rim (1963), The Road to the Rim (1967), The Rim Gods (1969), The Way Back (1976), and Star Courier (1977).
The A. Bertram Chandler Award for "outstanding achievement in Australian science fiction" was named in his honor since 1992.
Arthur Bertram Chandler, Master Navigator of Space: A Working Bibliography was published in 1989 by Gordon Benson, Jr.
Liberty Hall[edit]
Chandler’s works centered on the space captain John Grimes, and include the greeting, “Come in. This is Liberty Hall. You can spit on the mat and call the cat a bastard!” first used in The Road to the Rim, where it appears four times. (“Liberty Hall” appears to have originated in Oliver Goldsmith’s 1773 play, She Stoops to Conquer: “This is Liberty-hall, gentlemen. You may do just as you please here.” Later writers who employed variants include Robert A. Heinlein and Terry Pratchett.)
- http://www.BertramChandler.com – website maintained by David Kelleher
- Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
- A. Bertram Chandler in Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- wikipedia:A. Bertram Chandler
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1948 – Whitcon
- 1969 – Ditmar Award
- 1971 – Ditmar Award
- 1975 – Ditmar Award, Invisible Little Man Award
- 1976 – Q-Con III, Ditmar Award, Seiun Award for "Wet Paint"
- 1978 – Marcon XIII
- 1979 – Unicon V, Eastercon '79
- 1981 – Norcon I
- 1982 – Chicon IV
- 1996 – 1946 Best Novella Retro Hugo finalist
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| Person | 1912—1984 |
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