Evelyn E. Smith

Evelyn E. Smith (25 July 1922 – 4 July 2000)^[1] was an American writer and crossword puzzle compiler. During the 1950s, she regularly published—under her real name—short stories and novelettes in magazines like Galaxy Science Fiction and Fantastic Universe. These range from post-apocalyptic satires, such as “The Last of the Spode” and “The Hardest Bargain,” to “BAXBR/DAXBR,” where she explores the dangers of Martian crossword puzzles. Smith also wrote four science fiction novels, which chiefly deal with questions of gender identity and, like all of her work, are characterized by their wit and humor. Today she is probably better known for writing the Miss Melville Mystery series, which chronicles the exploits of a middle-aged socialite-turned-assassin.^[2]

Smith also wrote several gothic romance novels and non-fiction paranormal folk magic spell-casting collections under the pen name Delphine C. Lyons.^[2]

Smith's short story "At Last I've Found You" was adapted into an opera by Seymour Barab; it premiered in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1984. ^[3]

Works

Novels^[1]

• The Perfect Planet (1962)
• Unpopular Planet (1975)
• The Copy Shop (1985)

Short stories^[4]

• "Tea Tray in the Sky" (1952)
• "The Martian and the Magician" (1952)
• "Not Fit for Children" (1953)
• "The Last of the Spode" (1953) [also as by Evelyn Smith ]
• "Nightmare on the Nose" (1953)
• "BAXBR/DAXBR" (1954) also appeared as:
• "Call Me Wizard" (1954)
• "Gerda" (1954)
• "The Agony of the Leaves" (1954)
• "At Last I've Found You" (1954)
• "Collector's Item" (1954)
• "The Laminated Woman" (1954)
• "The Vilbar Party" (1955)
• "Dragon Lady" (1955)
• "Helpfully Yours" (1955)
• "The Big Jump" (1955)
• "Man's Best Friend" (1955)
• "The Princess and the Physicist" (1955)
• "The Faithful Friend" (1955)
• "Teragram" (1955)
• "The Good Husband" (1955)
• "The Doorway" (1955)
• "Jack of No Trades" (1955)
• "Weather Prediction" (1955)
• "Floyd and the Eumenides" (1955)
• "Bodyguard" (1956)
• "The Captain's Mate" (1956)
• "The Venus Trap" (1956)
• "Mr. Replogle's Dream" (1956)
• "Woman's Touch" (1957)
• "The Ignoble Savages" (1957)
• "The Lady from Aldebaran" (1957)
• "Once a Greech" (1957)
• "Outcast of Mars" (1957)
• "The 4D Bargain" (1957)
• "The Hardest Bargain" (1957)
• "The Man Outside" (1957)
• "The Most Sentimental Man" (1957)
• "The Weegil" (1957)
• "The Blue Tower" (1958)
• "My Fair Planet" (1958)
• "Never Come Midnight" (1958)
• "Two Suns of Morcali" (1958) also appeared as: "The Two Suns of Morcali" (2012)
• "The People Upstairs" (1959)
• "The Alternate Host" (1959)
• "Someone To Watch Over Me" (1959)
• "Send Her Victorious" (1960)
• "A Day in the Suburbs" (1960)
• "Sentry of the Sky" (1961)
• "Softly While You're Sleeping" (1961)
• "Robert E. Lee at Moscow" (1961)
• "They Also Serve" (1962)
• "Little Gregory" (1964)
• "Calliope and Gherkin and the Yankee Doodle Thing" (1969)

Miss Melville mystery series^[2]

• Miss Melville Regrets (1986)
• Miss Melville Returns (1988)
• Miss Melville's Revenge (1990)
• Miss Melville Rides a Tiger (1991)

Novels as Delphine C. Lyons^[2]

• Flowers of Evil (1965)
• House of Four Windows (1965)
• The Depths of Yesterday (1966)
• Valley of Shadows (1968)
• Phantom at Lost Lake (1970)

Non-fiction as Delphine C. Lyons

• Everyday Witchcraft (1972)

Collected editions^[4]

• Evelyn E. Smith Resurrected: Selected Stories of Evelyn E. Smith (2010)
• The Two Suns of Morcali and Other Stories (2012)

See also

References

External links

• Works by Evelyn E. Smith at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Evelyn E. Smith at Internet Archive
• Works by Evelyn E. Smith at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Evelyn E. Smith at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database