A short life of the author
Tanith Lee (1947–2015) was born on 19 September 1947 in London. She did not begin publishing until her late twenties, but once she started, her productivity was extraordinary.
Life and Career
The Birthgrave (1975) — a science fantasy about an amnesiac woman who may be a goddess, published by DAW Books — launched her career. The Flat Earth series — Night’s Master (1978), Death’s Master (1979), Delusion’s Master (1981) — reimagines Arabian Nights mythology as dark, erotic fantasy of remarkable sophistication.
The Silver Metal Lover (1982) — about a woman’s love affair with a robot musician — is one of the most emotionally powerful science fiction novels of the 1980s. Her short fiction — collected in volumes like Red as Blood (1983) and Women as Demons (1989) — retells fairy tales and myths with a feminist, darkly sensual edge.
Major Works and Themes
Lee wrote about desire, power, gender, and transformation. Her fiction is lush, baroque, and unafraid of darkness. She was one of the most imaginatively fertile writers in the history of genre fiction.
Key Works
- Night’s Master (1978)
- Death’s Master (1979) — August Derleth Award
- The Silver Metal Lover (1982)
Collecting Lee
The Birthgrave (1975, DAW) — the debut — brings $15–$40. Lee died in 2015. DAW first editions are the standard collected form for the early novels.