A Gnome There Was


A Gnome There Was is a collection of science fiction and fantasy stories by American writers Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, published under their Lewis Padgett pseudonym by Simon & Schuster in 1950. No other editions were issued.

Contents

  • "A Gnome There Was"
  • "What You Need"
  • "The Twonky"
  • "The Cure"
  • "Exit the Professor"
  • "See You Later"
  • "Mimsy Were the Borogoves"
  • "Jesting Pilot"
  • "This Is the House"
  • "Rain Check"
  • "Compliments of the Author"
"A Gnome There Was" and "Compliments of the Author" originally appeared under Kuttner's byline. "This Is the House" was originally credited to "Lawrence O'Donnell," another Kuttner/Moore pseudonym. The two stories originally credited to Kuttner are fantasies; the other stories are science fiction.

Reception

Fletcher Pratt, writing in The New York Times, praised the collection as "Padgett at his best and most characteristic," saying that "the lightness of the method is in curious contrast to the thoughtfulness of the result." P. Schuyler Miller reviewed the collection favorably, describing it as "one of the best one-man-shows available" and praising "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" as a "masterpiece."