English language
Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson
3 stars
(1 review)
Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson is a 1993 anthology by George Alec Effinger, collecting all of his stories (up to 1993) about Maureen "Muffy" Birnbaum, a Jewish-American Princess who is magically teleported to various fantasy and science fiction universes, and later recounts the tales to her best friend, "Bitsy" Spiegelman. Originally written on his own initiative, the character proved popular enough for Effinger to gain several requests from authors to have versions of their work visited by Muffy. In addition to satirizing and spoofing the various themes, the stories had a feminist undertone, as Maureen dealt with the often sexist reactions of the inhabitants of the worlds she met, struggled to find the Martian prince she had fallen in love with, and contrasted her adventures with the life of Bitsy, a housewife with an increasingly unhappy marriage. The anthology had two editions: Swan Press trade paper (June 1993, ISBN 1-883722-01-2) cover …
Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson is a 1993 anthology by George Alec Effinger, collecting all of his stories (up to 1993) about Maureen "Muffy" Birnbaum, a Jewish-American Princess who is magically teleported to various fantasy and science fiction universes, and later recounts the tales to her best friend, "Bitsy" Spiegelman. Originally written on his own initiative, the character proved popular enough for Effinger to gain several requests from authors to have versions of their work visited by Muffy. In addition to satirizing and spoofing the various themes, the stories had a feminist undertone, as Maureen dealt with the often sexist reactions of the inhabitants of the worlds she met, struggled to find the Martian prince she had fallen in love with, and contrasted her adventures with the life of Bitsy, a housewife with an increasingly unhappy marriage. The anthology had two editions: Swan Press trade paper (June 1993, ISBN 1-883722-01-2) cover and interior illustrations by Peggy Ranson. Guild America/SFBC hardcover (Aug. 1994, ISBN 1-56865-101-5) cover and interior illustrations by Ken Kelly.The hardcover reused the trade paper’s copyright page (i.e. date and illustration credit). The hardcover's jacket has the correct credit, and the correct date was advertised in Locus magazine.
