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Our Lady of Darkness
Our Lady of Darkness (1977) is an urban fantasy novel by American author Fritz Leiber. The novel is distinguished for three elements: the heavily autobiographical elements in the story, the use of Jungian psychology that informs the narrative, and its detailed description of "megapolisomancy", a fictional occult science. It was originally published in shorter form as The Pale Brown Thing (Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January/February 1977).
The story centers on Franz Westen, a recovering alcoholic and writer of weird tales, who lives in San Francisco.
The plot unfolds as Westen discovers an old journal belonging to Clark Ashton Smith, a real-life writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. In this journal, Smith discusses "paramentals", entities that feed off of human emotions and are drawn to urban environments. As Westen delves deeper, he learns about "megapolisomancy", a fictional occult science focused on harnessing the supernatural forces present in large cities.
Westen begins to experience bizarre and terrifying occurrences. He sees mysterious figures on nearby rooftops and encounters eerie phenomena, suggesting the presence of supernatural forces in the city. The novel's climax involves Westen's confrontation with these forces, symbolized by the entity "Our Lady of Darkness" – a powerful, ancient being connected to the history and fabric of San Francisco itself.
Multiple elements of Our Lady of Darkness were inspired by Leiber's life and experiences. Like the protagonist Franz Westen, Leiber was recovering from the emotional trauma of his wife's death which led to a period of alcohol abuse and living in near-destitution. Westen also shared Leiber's interest in amateur astronomy, and in finding methods to re-engage with the world around him.
The novel is set in actual San Francisco locations, including Corona Heights and the Sutro Tower behind it, and prominently features the Transamerica Pyramid. The fictional character lives at the address where Leiber lived, 811 Geary Street, now the Hotel Union. As late as 2012, fantasy fans could take a walking tour of the city that included all the novel's main locations. Several other characters are thinly disguised versions of people active in Bay Area fantasy and SF fandom in the mid-1970s.Our Lady of Darkness mentions authors Jack London, Ambrose Bierce and Clark Ashton Smith, who all lived part of their lives in San Francisco.
The title is taken from Thomas De Quincey's Suspiria de Profundis (which is quoted as an epigraph), and references are also made to M. R. James's ghost stories, and to the work of fantasy/horror writers such as H.P. Lovecraft. These allusions add an element of metafiction to the story, making it in part an examination and description of horror and the imagination.
Adding to the metafictional elements of the story are Leiber's frequent references to Jung's descriptions of the Anima (female self) and the Shadow (hidden self). These are elements that existed in Leiber's work nearly since the start of his career in the late 1930s, according to Bruce Byfield's Witches of the Mind: A Critical Study of Fritz Leiber. The main difference in Our Lady of Darkness is that, unlike much of his earlier works, the references to these figures are explicit, rather than implied, and at times supported by direct quotations.
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Our Lady of Darkness
Our Lady of Darkness (1977) is an urban fantasy novel by American author Fritz Leiber. The novel is distinguished for three elements: the heavily autobiographical elements in the story, the use of Jungian psychology that informs the narrative, and its detailed description of "megapolisomancy", a fictional occult science. It was originally published in shorter form as The Pale Brown Thing (Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January/February 1977).
The story centers on Franz Westen, a recovering alcoholic and writer of weird tales, who lives in San Francisco.
The plot unfolds as Westen discovers an old journal belonging to Clark Ashton Smith, a real-life writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. In this journal, Smith discusses "paramentals", entities that feed off of human emotions and are drawn to urban environments. As Westen delves deeper, he learns about "megapolisomancy", a fictional occult science focused on harnessing the supernatural forces present in large cities.
Westen begins to experience bizarre and terrifying occurrences. He sees mysterious figures on nearby rooftops and encounters eerie phenomena, suggesting the presence of supernatural forces in the city. The novel's climax involves Westen's confrontation with these forces, symbolized by the entity "Our Lady of Darkness" – a powerful, ancient being connected to the history and fabric of San Francisco itself.
Multiple elements of Our Lady of Darkness were inspired by Leiber's life and experiences. Like the protagonist Franz Westen, Leiber was recovering from the emotional trauma of his wife's death which led to a period of alcohol abuse and living in near-destitution. Westen also shared Leiber's interest in amateur astronomy, and in finding methods to re-engage with the world around him.
The novel is set in actual San Francisco locations, including Corona Heights and the Sutro Tower behind it, and prominently features the Transamerica Pyramid. The fictional character lives at the address where Leiber lived, 811 Geary Street, now the Hotel Union. As late as 2012, fantasy fans could take a walking tour of the city that included all the novel's main locations. Several other characters are thinly disguised versions of people active in Bay Area fantasy and SF fandom in the mid-1970s.Our Lady of Darkness mentions authors Jack London, Ambrose Bierce and Clark Ashton Smith, who all lived part of their lives in San Francisco.
The title is taken from Thomas De Quincey's Suspiria de Profundis (which is quoted as an epigraph), and references are also made to M. R. James's ghost stories, and to the work of fantasy/horror writers such as H.P. Lovecraft. These allusions add an element of metafiction to the story, making it in part an examination and description of horror and the imagination.
Adding to the metafictional elements of the story are Leiber's frequent references to Jung's descriptions of the Anima (female self) and the Shadow (hidden self). These are elements that existed in Leiber's work nearly since the start of his career in the late 1930s, according to Bruce Byfield's Witches of the Mind: A Critical Study of Fritz Leiber. The main difference in Our Lady of Darkness is that, unlike much of his earlier works, the references to these figures are explicit, rather than implied, and at times supported by direct quotations.