BORGO PRESS BOOKS BY JOHN RUSSELL FEARN

      1,000-Year Voyage: A Science Fiction Novel * Anjani the Mighty: A Lost Race Novel (Anjani #2) * Black Maria, M.A.: A Classic Crime Novel (Black Maria #1) * A Case for Brutus Lloyd * The Crimson Rambler: A Crime Novel * Death in Silhouette (Black Maria #5) * Don’t Touch Me: A Crime Novel * Dynasty of the Small: Classic Science Fiction Stories * The Empty Coffins: A Mystery of Horror * The Fourth Door: A Mystery Novel * From Afar: A Science Fiction Mystery * Fugitive of Time: A Classic Science Fiction Novel * The G-Bomb: A Science Fiction Novel * The Genial Dinosaur (Herbert the Dinosaur #2) * The Gold of Akada: A Jungle Adventure Novel (Anjani #1) * Here and Now: A Science Fiction Novel * Into the Unknown: A Science Fiction Tale * Last Conflict: Classic Science Fiction Stories * Legacy from Sirius: A Classic Science Fiction Novel * The Man from Hell: Classic Science Fiction Stories * The Man Who Was Not: A Crime Novel * Manton’s World: A Classic Science Fiction Novel * Moon Magic: A Novel of Romance (as Elizabeth Rutland) * The Murdered Schoolgirl: A Classic Crime Novel (Black Maria #2) * One Remained Seated: A Classic Crime Novel (Black Maria #3) * One Way Out: A Crime Novel (with Philip Harbottle) * Pattern of Murder: A Classic Crime Novel * Reflected Glory: A Dr. Castle Classic Crime Novel * Robbery Without Violence: Two Science Fiction Crime Stories * Rule of the Brains: Classic Science Fiction Stories * Shattering Glass: A Crime Novel * The Silvered Cage: A Scientific Murder Mystery * Slaves of Ijax: A Science Fiction Novel * Something from Mercury: Classic Science Fiction Stories * The Space Warp: A Science Fiction Novel * A Thing of the Past (Herbert the Dinosaur #1) * Thy Arm Alone: A Classic Crime Novel (Black Maria #4) * The Time Trap: A Science Fiction Novel * Vision Sinister: A Scientific Detective Thriller * Voice of the Conqueror: A Classic Science Fiction Novel * What Happened to Hammond? A Scientific Mystery * Within That Room!: A Classic Crime Novel * World Without Chance

      THE GOLDEN AMAZON SAGA

      1. World Beneath Ice * 2. Lord of Atlantis * 3. Triangle of Power * 4. The Amethyst City * 5. Daughter of the Amazon * 6. Quorne Returns * 7. The Central Intelligence * 8. The Cosmic Crusaders * 9. Parasite Planet * 10. World Out of Step * 11. The Shadow People * 12. Kingpin Planet * 13. World in Reverse * 14. Dwellers in Darkness * 15. World in Duplicate * 16. Lords of Creation * 17. Duel with Colossus * 18. Standstill Planet * 19. Ghost World * 20. Earth Divided * 21. Chameleon Planet (with Philip Harbottle)

      COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

      Copyright © 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940 by John Russell Fearn; Copyright © 2013 by Philip Harbottle

      Published by Wildside Press LLC

      www.wildsidebooks.com

      DEDICATION

      To the memory of Stanley G. Weinbaum

      INTRODUCTION

      by Philip Harbottle

      The two best-known early science fiction magazine pseudonyms of English writer John Russell Fearn were ‘Thornton Ayre’ and ‘Polton Cross’. The perceived wisdom amongst SF commentators is that both pseudonyms were conceived by Fearn more or less simultaneously in 1937 in order to increase his chances of selling to the American pulp magazines. And further, that initially stories under these names were written in an imitation of the style of the late Stanley G. Weinbaum. Then, when the ‘fad’ for Weinbaum imitations began to die out in the magazines—led by John W. Campbell at Astounding—Fearn changed his style and thereafter wrote under both pseudonyms in his own original style (or rather, two styles.)

      Whilst such a summation is broadly correct, it is actually grossly simplified, and barely hints at the full, quite complicated background story. The full story of Fearn’s Weinbaum imitations is rather fascinating, and has never been fully documented. The present two-volume Borgo Press original set, World Without Chance and Valley of Pretenders, which collects these stories for the first time, is the result of many years of research. It uses primary sources that, collectively, are simply unavailable to other commentators. Most valuably, I been able to draw on information contained in Fearn’s personal prewar and early wartime letters to British SF magazine editor Walter Gillings, and to his friend and fellow author William F. Temple. Additionally, I have complete runs of the early magazines during the period Fearn contributed to them, and I myself have conducted further correspondence with Fearn’s agent at the time, the late Julius Schwartz, and with Geoffrey H. Medley. Medley, who lived near Fearn in Blackpool, was one of Fearn’s closest prewar friends. In his letters to magazine editors, Fearn had claimed that ‘Thornton Ayre’ was actually one Frank Jones, who was initially resident in the same house as Medley!

      In October 1952, some five years after the last Thornton Ayre story had appeared, Fearn gave a speech as Guest of Honour at a Manchester SF Convention. He was then questioned about his pseudonyms and asked directly as to whether he was ‘Polton Cross’ and ‘Thornton Ayre’. He readily confirmed he was Cross, but had apparently replied that he was not Ayre, and that the name belonged to a friend of his, Frank Jones! His talk was reported in a couple of UK fanzines, the most detailed account appearing in Camber No. 1 (1953), written by attendee H. P. ‘Sandy’ Sanderson. Speaking about the Ayre byline, Sanderson wrote:

      “Reverting back to pen names, he does insist that Thornton Ayre is not one of his. Apparently it belongs to a friend of his, Frank Jones. Mr. Jones does a lot of travelling, and he leaves his MSS with JRF. Publisher’s sending cheques to JRF’s house must have assumed he was Thornton Ayre.”

      We can’t know if Sanderson’s account was entirely accurate, but the salient fact was certainly confirmed in a concurrent report in another fanzine by the Liverpool fan Group that stated: “Polton Cross is one of his pseudos, but Thornton Ayre, it seems, is not.”

      But if Fearn’s remarks were correctly reported, it seems clear that he was speaking with his tongue very firmly in his cheek, and was just pulling the legs of his audience, for he most assuredly was Thornton Ayre! It would seem that Fearn could never quite get over the fact that his secret authorship could have been exposed when the Thornton Ayre byline had in fact been invented and used by someone else!

      But who was this Frank Jones? Did he really exist? Hitherto, no SF historian or commentator has ever troubled to find out. The assumption has been that he did not exist.

      In point of fact, Temple’s correspondence in the late 1930s contained many letters actually signed ‘Frank Jones’, and claiming to be that separate person, By then Jones was no longer living at the same house as Geoff Medley, and the letters to Temple gave his address as that of Fearn—Jones was now allegedly lodging at Fearn’s home!

      Recalling these letters from Thornton Ayre (which he generously allowed me to copy), Temple told me: “…Jack kept trying to kid me he was really another person. I didn’t believe it…but I played along with him for the fun of it.”

      In his first letter to Fearn’s alter ego Frank Jones (Thornton Ayre) in December of 1939, Temple touched briefly on the personal side:

      “Re you being Jack—Jack has told me you are not, and I’m quite willing to believe him. In fact, I’m sure that Thornton Ayre and JRF are too different personalities. I do not pursue inquiries as to whether Jack is schizophrenic or not; his business is his business and not mine, or anyone’s. All I know is that he is a decent chap himself, generous and helpful to those who cannot be helpful to him; and an unfairly maligned author. I hope you won’t think it is flattery if I say that your letter shows traces of this same unasked-for generosity too. To continue this psycho-analysis, I’d say that this generosity is not a weak point because you both have hard business heads (which I definitely have not) and have it well under control.”

      And to add to the mystery, Walter Gillings’ earlier 1936-1938 editorial correspondence details separate story submissions from a Frank Jones, sent from a different address than Fearn’s!

      So how to reconcile the above with the fact that all of the published Thornton Ayre stories were all quite definitely written entirely by Fearn? My own careful analysis of the style of the Ayre stories—and much more significantly, the fact that years later Fearn would “mine” many of these stories and incorporate them, in adapted form, into his own novels, not to mention his reprinting