Bradley, Marion Zimmer (Miriam Gardner, Morgan Ives)

Marion Zimmer Bradley is best known for her work in the fantasy and science fiction genres. She was the author of the novel The Mists of Avalon and the popular Darkover fantasy series. Bradley is acknowledged for supporting new writers in the magazines and anthologies she edited, especially Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine and the annual anthology Sword and Sorceress. In the 1970s Bradley disassociated herself from her early lesbian pulp novels, saying that it was not because she was ashamed but simply did not want to be pigeonholed as a lesbian writer.

In the 1950s her editor recognized lesbian themes in her work and referred her to the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), an early lesbian rights organization. She wrote several articles on the topic of lesbians in heterosexual marriages for The Ladder (DOBs newsletter). At the time she was the mother of a young child and married to Robert Bradley. She divorced in 1964 but kept Bradley’s last name as the Zimmer Bradley name had gained recognition as a fantasy writer. She married Walter Breen later the same year.  Breen, using the pseudonym J.Z. Eglinton, was the editor of International Journal of Greek Love and author of a book on homosexuality and pederasty. They had two children and divorced in 1990. Breen was convicted of pedophilia in 1993 and died in prison three years later. Zimmer Bradley died in 1999. In 2014 Bradley and Breen’s daughter Moira Greyland revealed that she and her brother were sexually abused by their parents. The publishers of Bradley’s books have pledged proceeds from the sale of her books to children’s charities.

Adrian, Jack. “Obituary: Marion Zimmer Bradley.”  Independent, September 30, 1999. www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-marion-zimmer-bradley-1123162.html

Bradley, Marion Zimmer. Interview with Manuela Soares, Herstories: Audio/Visual Collections of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, October 17, 1988. herstories.prattinfoschool.nyc/omeka/document/DV45_Marion%20Zimmer%20Bradley_tape1of1_1988oct17.

Flood, Alison. “SFF community reeling after Marion Zimmer Bradley's daughter accuses her of abuse.” The Guardian, June 27, 2014. www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/27/sff-community-marion-zimmer-bradley-daughter-accuses-abuse

Mader, Donald. “Walter H. Breen (J. Z. Eglinton) (1928-1993).” Before Stonewall : Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context, edited by Vern L. Bullough. Routledge, 2002. Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies, pp. 312-321.

Nash, Darren. “Marion Zimmer Bradley” SF Gateway, July 1, 2014. https://blog.sfgateway.com/index.php/marion-zimmer-bradley/