Editing Barbara Hambly

{{Short description|American novelist and screenwriter (born 1951)}}
{{about|the American author|the British field hockey player|Barbara Hambly (field hockey)}}
{{Primary sources|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| image        = <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people - see [[WP:NONFREE]] -->
| imagesize    =
| name         = Barbara Hambly
| caption      = 
| pseudonym    = Barbara Hamilton
| birth_name    = 
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1951|8|28|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [[San Diego]], California, U.S.
| death_date    = 
| death_place   = 
| occupation   = {{flatlist|
* Novelist
* short story author
* screenwriter
}}
| alma_mater   = [[University of California, Riverside]]
| genre        = [[Science fiction]], [[fantasy]], [[Horror fiction|horror]], [[Mystery fiction|mystery]], [[historical fiction]]
| movement     = 
| notableworks = 
| website      = {{URL|barbarahambly.com}}
|awards=[[Lord Ruthven Award]] (1996)
}}

'''Barbara Hambly''' (born August 28, 1951) is an American [[novelist]] and [[screenwriter]] within the genres of [[fantasy]], [[science fiction]], [[Mystery fiction|mystery]], and [[historical fiction]].

She is the author of the bestselling [[Benjamin January]] mystery series featuring a [[free people of color|free man of color]], a musician and physician, in New Orleans in the antebellum years. She also wrote a novel about [[Mary Todd Lincoln]].

Her science fiction novels occur within an explicit [[Parallel universe (fiction)|multiverse]], as well as within previously existing settings (notably as established by ''[[Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Star Wars]]'').

==Early life and education==
Hambly was born in [[San Diego, California]] and grew up in [[Montclair, California|Montclair]], [[California]]. Her parents, Everett Edward Hambly Jr. and Florence Elizabeth (Moraski) Hambly, are from Fall River, Massachusetts; and Scranton, Pennsylvania (respectively). She has an older sister, Mary Ann Sanders, and a younger brother, Everett Edward Hambly, III.  In her early teens, after reading [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', she affixed images of dragons to her bedroom door. She became interested in costumery from an early age, and has been a long-time participant in [[Society for Creative Anachronism]] activities. In the mid-1960s, the Hambly family spent a year in Australia.

Hambly has a Master's in [[Medieval History]] from the [[University of California, Riverside]]. She completed her degree in 1975 and spent a year in [[Bordeaux, France|Bordeaux]] as part of her studies.

==Career==
She chose work that allowed her time to write;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barbarahambly.com/hambio.htm |title=Biography of Barbara Hambly |publisher=Barbarahambly.com |date=1999-09-17 |access-date=2013-02-07 |archive-date=2008-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930213705/http://www.barbarahambly.com/hambio.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> all of her novels contain a biography paragraph with a litany of jobs: high school [[teacher]], [[Model (person)|model]], waitress, technical editor, all-night liquor store clerk, and Shotokan [[karate]] instructor. Her first published novel was ''[[The Time of the Dark]]'' (1982).

Hambly served as President of the [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]] from 1994 to 1996.  Her works have been nominated for many awards in the [[fantasy]] and [[horror fiction]] categories, winning a [[Locus Award]] for Best Horror Novel ''[[Those Who Hunt The Night|Those Who Hunt the Night]]'' (1989) (released in the UK as ''Immortal Blood'') and the [[Lord Ruthven Award]] for fiction for its sequel, ''[[Traveling with the Dead]]'' (1996).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barbarahambly.com/hambooks.htm |title=Books and awards |publisher=Barbarahambly.com |access-date=2013-02-07 |archive-date=2013-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206235948/http://www.barbarahambly.com/hambooks.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Marriage and personal life==
Hambly was married for some years to [[George Alec Effinger]], a science fiction writer. He died in 2002. She lives in Los Angeles.  Hambly speaks freely of suffering from [[seasonal affective disorder]], which was undiagnosed for some time.

==Themes within fantasy==
Hambly's work has several themes. She has a penchant for unusual characters within the fantasy genre, such as the menopausal witch and reluctant scholar-lord in the ''Winterlands'' trilogy, or the [[Philology|philologist]] secret service agent in the vampire novels.<ref>[http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20000911/Article_Hambly_Pellegrino.shtml "Review of female characters in Barbara Hambly novels"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114031303/http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20000911/Article_Hambly_Pellegrino.shtml |date=2006-11-14 }}, ''Strange Horizons''</ref>

Her writing is filled with rich descriptions and characters whose actions bear consequences for both their lives and relationships, suffusing her series with a sense of loss and regret.<ref name="AS">{{cite web|author=yGen User |url=http://www.andromedaspaceways.com/inter_0002.htm |title=Interview with Andromeda Spaceways |publisher=Andromedaspaceways.com |date=2005-12-25 |access-date=2013-02-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211165838/http://www.andromedaspaceways.com/inter_0002.htm |archive-date=2012-02-11 }}</ref> Hambly's characters suffer  the pain of frustrated aspirations to a degree that is uncommon in most fantasy novels.<ref name="clute">Clute, J. & Grant, J. (1999).  ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy''. Orbit: London (UK)</ref>

Though using many standard clichés and plot devices of the fantasy genre, her works explore the ethical implications of the consequences of these devices, and what their effect is for the characters, were they real people. In avoiding the "...easy consolatory self-identification of genre fantasy"<ref name="clute"/> (p.&nbsp;449) and refusing to let her work be guided more explicitly by conventions and the desires of her audience, Hambly may have missed out on more remunerative success and acclaim.<ref name="clute"/>

Although magic exists in many of her settings, it is not used as an easy solution but follows rules and takes energy from the wizards. In the Darwath, Windrose, and Sun-Cross stories, unusual settings are justified as alternate universes.<ref>“'I came through the void that separates your universe from mine'” (Barbara Hambly, ''The Time of the Dark'', page 32). “He would explain, earnestly, that he was a wizard in another universe.”  “'Mostly they’re from other universes—other dimensions, I think people say here'” (Barbara Hambly, “Plus-One”). Rhion of Sligo, hero of the Sun-Cross series, is a wizard who has travelled through “the darkness that lay between universes” (Barbara Hambly, ''The Magicians of Night'', page 1)</ref>
{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Hambly heavily researches her settings, either in person or through books, frequently drawing upon her degree in medieval history for background and depth.<ref name="futurefiction">[http://www.futurefiction.com/barbara_hambly.htm Review of Barbara Hambly as an author] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614185931/http://futurefiction.com/barbara_hambly.htm |date=2006-06-14 }}, Future Fiction website</ref>

==Bibliography==

===[[Benjamin January]] mysteries===
This [[historical mystery]] series begins with ''A Free Man of Color'' (1997) and features [[The Benjamin January Mysteries|Benjamin January]], a brilliant, classically educated, free colored surgeon and musician living in [[New Orleans]] during the [[antebellum South|antebellum]] years of the 1830s. At the time, New Orleans had a large and prosperous population of free people of color. Born a slave, as his mother was enslaved, January was freed as a young child by his mother's lover, under the [[plaçage]] system. Provided with an excellent education, he gained fluency in several classical and modern languages, and was thoroughly versed in the whole of classical Western learning and arts.  He studied medicine in Paris, where he trained as a surgeon. He returned to Louisiana to escape the memory of his late wife, a woman from North Africa. As a free black in Louisiana, he cannot find work as a surgeon. He earns a modest living by his exceptional talent as a musician.

# ''A Free Man of Color'' (1997)
# ''Fever Season'' (1998)
# ''Graveyard Dust'' (1999)
# ''Sold Down the River'' (2000)
# ''Die upon a Kiss'' (2001)
# ''Wet Grave'' (2002)
# ''Days of the Dead'' (2003)
# ''Dead Water'' (2004)
# ''Dead and Buried'' (2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Dead+and+Buried/7168|title=Severn House|website=www.severnhouse.com|access-date=21 January 2018|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623055853/http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Dead%2Band%2BBuried/7168|url-status=dead}}</ref>
# ''The Shirt on His Back'' (2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.severnhouse.com/book/The+Shirt+on+His+Back/7169|title=Severn House|website=www.severnhouse.com|access-date=21 January 2018|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623055906/http://www.severnhouse.com/book/The%2BShirt%2Bon%2BHis%2BBack/7169|url-status=dead}}</ref>
# ''Ran Away'' (2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Ran+Away/7838|title=Severn House|website=www.severnhouse.com|access-date=21 January 2018|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623055853/http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Ran%2BAway/7838|url-status=dead}}</ref>
# ''Good Man Friday'' (2013)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Good+Man+Friday/8113|title=Severn House|website=www.severnhouse.com|access-date=21 January 2018|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623055909/http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Good%2BMan%2BFriday/8113|url-status=dead}}</ref>
# ''Crimson Angel'' (2014)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Crimson+Angel/8410|title=Severn House|website=www.severnhouse.com|access-date=21 January 2018|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623130028/http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Crimson%2BAngel/8410|url-status=dead}}</ref>
# ''Drinking Gourd'' (2016)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Drinking+Gourd/8649|title=Severn House|website=www.severnhouse.com|access-date=21 January 2018|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623055856/http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Drinking%2BGourd/8649|url-status=dead}}</ref>
# ''Murder in July'' (2017)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Murder+in+July/8789|title=Severn House|website=www.severnhouse.com|access-date=13 August 2018|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623055853/http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Murder%2Bin%2BJuly/8789|url-status=dead}}</ref>
# ''Cold Bayou'' (2018)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Cold+Bayou/8875|title=Severn House|website=www.severnhouse.com|access-date=13 August 2018|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623055853/http://www.severnhouse.com/book/Cold%2BBayou/8875|url-status=dead}}</ref>
# ''Lady of Perdition'' (2019)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://severnhouse.com/book/Lady+of+Perdition/9017|title=Severn House|website=severnhouse.com}}</ref>
# ''House of the Patriarch'' (2020)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://severnhouse.com/book/House+of+the+Patriarch/9116|title=Severn House|website=severnhouse.com|access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref>
# ''Death and Hard Cider'' (Hardcover – June 7, 2022)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://severnhouse.com/books/death-and-hard-cider/ | title=Death and Hard Cider }}</ref>

====Short stories====
* "Libre" (2006, short story in ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'', November 2006, Salute to New Orleans issue. Available on Hambly's website.)
* "There Shall Your Heart Be Also" (2007, short story in ''New Orleans Noir'', ed. Julie Smith. Available on Hambly's website.)
* "A Time to Every Purpose Under Heaven" (2010, short story starring Rose and Dominique, and taking place while Benjamin is away (plot of ''The Shirt on His Back''). Available on Hambly's website.)

===Historical fiction===
* ''Search the Seven Hills'' [originally ''The Quirinal Hill Affair''] (1983)
* ''The Emancipator's Wife'' (2005; finalist for the Michael Shaara Prize for Excellence in a Civil War Novel, 2006)
* ''Patriot Hearts'' (2007)
* ''Homeland: A Novel'' (2009)

===Abigail Adams Mysteries (written as Barbara Hamilton)===
# ''The Ninth Daughter'' (2009)
# ''A Marked Man'' (2010)
# ''Sup with the Devil '' (2011)

===Sherlock Holmes short story pastiches===
# "The Adventure of the Antiquarian’s Niece" (2003, ''Shadows Over Baker Street'', ed. Michael Reaves & John Pelan, narrated by Dr. Watson)
# "The Dollmaker of Marigold Walk" (2003, ''My Sherlock Holmes'', ed. Michael Kurland, narrated by Mrs. Mary Watson)
# "The Lost Boy" (2008, ''Gaslight Grimoire'', ed. J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec, narrated by Mrs. Mary Watson)
# "The Adventure of the Sinister Chinaman" (2010, ''Sherlock Holmes: Crossovers Casebook'', ed. Howard Hopkins, narrated by Dr. Watson)

===Anne Steelyard: The Garden of Emptiness===
# ''An Honorary Man'' (2008, graphic novel)
# ''The Gate of Dreams and Starlight'' (2009, graphic novel)
# ''A Thousand Waters'' (2011, graphic novel)

===Darwath===

#''[[The Time of the Dark]]'' (1982)
#''[[The Walls of Air]]'' (1983)
#''[[The Armies of Daylight]]'' (1983)
# ''Mother of Winter'' (1996; Locus Award nominee 1997)
# ''Icefalcon's Quest'' (1998)
# "Pretty Polly" (2010, original short story available on Hambly's website.)

===Sun Wolf and Starhawk===
# ''[[The Ladies of Mandrigyn]]'' (1984; Locus Award nominee, 1985)
# ''[[The Witches of Wenshar]]'' (1987; Locus Award nominee, 1988)
# ''The Unschooled Wizard'' (''The Ladies of Mandrigyn'' & ''The Witches of Wenshar'' omnibus; 1987)
# ''The Dark Hand of Magic'' (1990)
# "A Night with the Girls" (2010, an original short story available on Hambly's website)
# "Fairest in ihe Land" (2011, an original short story available on Hambly's website)
# "Nanya of the Butterflies" (2015)
# "Hazard" (2017)
# "Gwenael" (2018)

===Winterlands===
# ''[[Dragonsbane]]'' (1985; Locus Award nominee, 1986 and 1987)
# ''Dragonshadow'' (1999; Locus Award nominee, 2000)
# ''Knight of the Demon Queen'' (2000; Locus Award nominee, 2001)
# ''Dragonstar'' (2002)
# ''Princess'' (2010, novella starring John Aversin. Now available on Hambly's website.)

===The Windrose Chronicles===
# ''The Silent Tower'' (1986)
# ''The Silicon Mage'' (1988)
# ''Darkmage'' (1988, omnibus of ''The Silent Tower'' and ''The Silicon Mage'')
# ''[[Dog Wizard]]'' (1993; Locus Award nominee, 1994)
# ''Stranger at the Wedding'' (also published as ''Sorcerer's Ward''; 1994)—not the same main characters, but set in the same universe
# "Firemaggot" (2010, an original short story available on Smashwords)
# "Corridor" (2011, an original short story available on Smashwords)
# "Plus-One" (2012, an original short story available on Smashwords)
# "Personal Paradise" (2014, an original short story available on Smashwords)
# "Zénobie" (July 2015, an original short story available on Smashwords)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BarbaraHambly1821|title=Smashwords – About Barbara Hambly|access-date=December 14, 2015}}</ref>
# "...Pretty Maids All in a Row" (October 2015)
# "Karate Masters vs the Invaders from Outer Space" (December 2017)

===Star Trek Universe===
# ''[[Ishmael (Star Trek)|Ishmael]]'' (1985)
# ''Ghost-Walker'' (1991)
# ''Crossroad'' (1994)

=== James Asher, Vampire novels ===
# ''[[Those Who Hunt the Night]]'', AKA ''Immortal Blood'' (UK title) (1988; Locus Award winner for Best Horror Novel in 1989)
# ''[[Traveling with the Dead]]'' (1995; Locus Award nominee, 1996, winner of the [[Lord Ruthven Award]], 1996)
# ''Blood Maidens'' (2010)
# ''Magistrates of Hell'' (2012)
# ''The Kindred of Darkness'' (U.K. 2013, U.S. 2014)
# ''Darkness on His Bones'' (2015)
# ''Pale Guardian'' (U.K. 2016, U.S. 2017)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://severnhouse.com/book/Pale+Guardian/8737|title=Severn House|website=severnhouse.com|access-date=21 January 2018|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623055856/http://severnhouse.com/book/Pale%2BGuardian/8737|url-status=dead}}</ref>
# ''Prisoner of Midnight'' (U.S. 2019)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://severnhouse.com/book/Prisoner+of+Midnight/8948|title=Severn House|website=severnhouse.com|access-date=3 March 2019|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623055856/http://severnhouse.com/book/Prisoner%2Bof%2BMidnight/8948|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The short story "Sunrise on Running Water" (2007, published in the anthology ''Dark Delicacies II: Fear'') is set in the world of the James Asher novels but does not feature Asher himself.

===Beauty and the Beast===
# ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1987 TV series)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' novelization (1989)
# ''Song of Orpheus'' (1990)

===Sun-Cross===
# ''The Rainbow Abyss'' (1991; Locus Award nominee, 1992)
# ''The Magicians of Night'' (1992; Locus Award nominee, 1993)

===Star Wars universe===
* ''[[Children of the Jedi]]'' (1995)
* "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale" (1995, short story in the anthology ''[[Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina]]'')
* "Taster's Choice: The Tale of Jabba's Chef" (1996, short story from the anthology ''[[Tales from Jabba's Palace]]'')
* "Murder in Slushtime" (1997, short story published in ''Star Wars Adventure Journal'' 14)
* ''[[Planet of Twilight]]'' (1997)

===Raven Sisters ===
* ''Sisters of the Raven'' (2002)
* ''Circle of the Moon'' (2005)

===Silver Screen historical mystery series===
* ''Scandal in Babylon'' (2021).  Not exactly a sequel to ''Bride of the Rat God'', which was a supernatural fantasy.  Hambly decided that the same characters, with the same names and mostly the same backstories, would work well in a mystery, eventually a series, without supernatural elements.
* ''One Extra Corpse'' (2023)
* ''Saving Susy Sweetchild'' (2024)

===Standalone works===
* ''Bride of the Rat God'' (1994; Locus Award nominee, 1995) and (sequel) ''Castle of Horror'' (April 2016, Amazon/Kindle)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hambly |first1=Barbara |title=(Untitled journal post) |url=https://barbara-hambly.livejournal.com/169546.html |website=LiveJournal |access-date=6 October 2022}}</ref>
* ''Magic Time'' (2002) (with Marc Zicree. The first of a trilogy. The other two volumes are by other authors: ''Angelfire'' by Marc Scott Zicree and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, and ''Ghostlands'' by Marc Scott Zicree and Robert Charles Wilson.)
* ''Renfield: Slave of Dracula'' (2006)
* "Someone Else's Shadow" (short story in the ''Night's Edge'' anthology)
*''The Iron Princess'' (2023)

==Television credits==
* ''[[Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors]]'' (1985)
* ''[[M.A.S.K. (TV series)|M.A.S.K.]]'' (1985)
* ''[[She-Ra: Princess of Power]]'' (1986)
* ''[[The Centurions (TV series)|The Centurions]]'' (1986)
* ''[[Starcom: The U.S. Space Force]]'' (1987)

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Official website|https://www.barbarahambly.com/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19990824175836/http://scifan.com/writers/hh/HamblyBarbara.asp Bibliography] at SciFan
* {{ISFDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|id=1628287|name=Barbara Hambly }}
* {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130416102845/http://thebookstacks.org/2011/10/30/barbara-hambly/ Podcast interview]}}
* [https://lccn.loc.gov/no2009154672 Barbara Hamilton]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (pseudonym) at LC Authorities, with 3 records
* [https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c84x58mb/ Barbara Hambly papers] at the [[Online Archive of California]]

{{Locus Award Best Horror Novel}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambly, Barbara}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American fantasy writers]]
[[Category:American women short story writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People with mood disorders]]
[[Category:Writers from Riverside, California]]
[[Category:Writers of historical mysteries]]
[[Category:University of California, Riverside alumni]]
[[Category:American women science fiction and fantasy writers]]
[[Category:American women mystery writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:American women historical novelists]]
[[Category:American historical novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association]]