Fletcher Pratt

Murray Fletcher Pratt (1897–1956) was a science fiction and fantasy writer; he was also well-known as a writer on naval history and on the American Civil War.

Related Topics:
Science fiction - Fantasy - Writer - Naval history - American Civil War

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According to L. Sprague de Camp, Pratt was born near Buffalo, New York and attended Hobart College for one year. During the 1920s he worked for the Buffalo Courier-Express and on a Staten Island newspaper. In the late 20s he began selling stories to pulp magazines. Again according to de Camp's memoir, when a fire gutted his apartment in the '30s he used the insurance money to study at the Sorbonne for a year. After that he began writing histories.

Related Topics:
L. Sprague de Camp - Buffalo, New York - Hobart College - 1920s - Courier-Express - Staten Island - Pulp magazines - '30s - Sorbonne

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Wargamers know Pratt as the inventor of the rules for civilian naval wargaming, before the Second World War. De Camp met him through his wargaming group.

Related Topics:
Wargaming - Second World War

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Pratt established the literary dining club known as the Trap Door Spiders in 1944. The name is a reference to the exclusive habits of the trapdoor spider, which when it enters its burrow pulls the hatch shut behind it. The club was later fictionalized as the Black Widowers in a series of mystery stories by Isaac Asimov.

Related Topics:
Trap Door Spiders - 1944 - Black Widowers - Mystery - Isaac Asimov

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Pratt is best known for his fantasy collaborations with de Camp, the most famous of which is the humorous Harold Shea series, was eventually published in full as The Complete Compleat Enchanter (1989, ISBN 0-671-69809-5). His solo fantasy novels Well of the Unicorn and The Blue Star are also highly regarded.

Related Topics:
Harold Shea - 1989

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