Robert Heinlein: bibliography, best works

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the greatest American writers - Robert Heinlein - was born in Missouri on July 7, 1907. There he spent his childhood. The greatest influence on the formation of the child's personality was made by his grandfather, who, firstly, instilled in him a love of reading, and, secondly, developed positive character traits in him, such as purposefulness and responsibility. Both had a passion for playing chess, which taught them to think logically.

Education and hobbies

Christian traditions were strong in Robert's family, so he was brought up in a strict puritanical spirit. It was the teaching of the Methodists, popular in that region of the USA. It included prohibitions on drinking alcohol in any quantity, gambling, dancing, and much more. Over time, Heinlein moved away from these strict rules, which affected the heroes of his books.

At school, the child was most fond of the exact sciences: mathematics, astronomy, and biology. His worldview changed a lot when he learned about evolutionary theoryCharles Darwin. In Kansas City, where he lived, his favorite place was the public library, from where he drew all possible literature on the above topics.

Education

Robert Heinlein had three brothers and three sisters. He followed the example of the eldest - Rex - and went to serve in the army. His target was the city of Annapolis, where the US Naval Academy was located. The American system for enrolling applicants in such universities is quite complicated. Unlike civilian universities, where it is enough to send all the necessary documents by mail, here it was also necessary to obtain positive recommendations from congressmen who could issue admission quotas. The situation was complicated by the fact that, according to the rules, only one person per generation could get into the academy from one family. This was already the older brother Rex, but Robert did not give up and began to fill up with letters from responsible persons with requests.

It took him a year. During this time, Robert Heinlein took one course at the University of Missouri. When the academy began to select applicants, it turned out that there were about 50 applications from 50 people and another 50 applications from one applicant. This was Robert. He successfully enrolled and moved to Bancroft Hall. This was the name of the midshipmen's hostel where the cadets lived.

Fleet

The service will later be reflected in the writer's work. In 1948, he wrote the novel "Space Cadet" (Space Cadet - in Russia it was also translated as"Space Patrol"). In the book, the author indulges in nostalgic memories of the time spent in the Navy through the prism of his own fantasy. The protagonist of the work enters the school of the Patrol Service, after which he goes on an expedition to Venus.

Robert Heinlein himself celebrated his naval career with many brilliant achievements. In addition to the fact that he succeeded in the traditional disciplines in the training program, he also practiced shooting, fencing and wrestling. In all these endeavors, he became the champion of his own academy. After graduation, his name was on the list of top cadets.

After graduating from the academy in 1929, Heinlein was promoted to ensign. It was a junior officer rank. While still a student, he practiced on various ships - "Utah", "Oklahoma" and "Arkansas". His first real assignment was to the aircraft carrier Lexington, which was in the ranks of the US Navy. His duty was to monitor the quality of communication between the ship and the aircraft. However, the career was ruined due to a state of he alth - a young officer was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Even after Robert recovered, he was not allowed to return to the service and was assigned a pension.

The beginning of writing

Failures in normal activities and loan debt gave Heinlein the incentive to start writing and publishing his own fiction. In 1939, he sold his first story, The Line of Life, to a publisher. After that, he mainly earned his living as a writer, putting aside all other hobbies.

"Line of Life"written in the genre of science fiction, which became the leitmotif of all the work that Robert Heinlein followed. The responses to the story were positive, and the writer decided to continue the Life Line with a series of similar works.

The result was "The History of the Future". This cycle included several short stories, novellas and novels. The plot summarized the history of mankind in the period from the 20th to the 23rd century. Most of the books were written at the beginning of the author's career, as well as from 1945 to 1950. Editor John Campbell called the series "The Story of the Future" and promoted it in many publications.

For convenient navigation through the fantastic universe, a special table was created, including the chronology and the main characters, authored by Robert Heinlein himself. The best of this cycle became a classic of the genre, and the "History" itself was nominated for the Hugo Award in 1966, but lost it to "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov.

Children's Literature

Heinlein's first published novel appeared in 1947. It was the Rocket Ship Galileo. The plot of the book was about a trip to the moon. At that moment, the publisher thought that this topic was too irrelevant and would not be accepted by the public. Therefore, the author sent the manuscript to Charles Scribner's Sons, where his works began to be published in a series for childhood and adolescence. They enjoyed continued popularity both with their main audience and with adults. At the same time, numerous genre clichés appeared, the author of which was Robert Heinlein. The bibliography includedstories about alien parasites, colonization of planets, etc.

Awards and success

The novel "Double Star" was the first to win the prestigious Hugo Award. In the future, the works "Starship Troopers", "Stranger in a Foreign Country", "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" sought the same award. As one of the founders of the genre, the author later received other awards, including posthumously.

The first novel to break out of this "children's" concept was Starship Troopers, written in 1959 in the wake of outrage against the US nuclear program. From that moment on, the motives of social conflicts and other serious topics were of great importance to the author.

Stranger in a strange land

In 1961, his most successful and famous novel, Stranger in a Strange Land, was published. The American public at the time was shocked by the sharp questions raised by Robert Heinlein. The quotes included debates about free love, libertarianism, individualism, and other philosophical concepts.

This book has been in the making for a decade, which is a record for an author. One of the reasons for this was the then censorship, which forbade raising sexual issues. In one of the first editions, the work was called "The Heretic", which reveals the meaning of the plot. The protagonist of the bangs, brought up by the Martians, returns to Earth, where he becomes the messiah among the local population. Censorship stopped about a quarter of the text due to sexual and religious motives. Full author's edition is outonly in 1991.

The work had many allusions, including the story about Mowgli, used by Kipling. The very title of the novel is a reference to the Bible.

"Stranger in a Strange Land" raises an argument about the dangers of merging religion and power. Raised in a Christian family, the author rethought his own views on canonical teachings.

Meaning

Besides, this theme was continued somewhat later in the novel "Job". It was a satirical book that became the symbol of the last stage of the bibliography, authored by Robert Heinlein. The works received many hidden allusions and comparisons that an unprepared reader could hardly understand.

The writer is considered one of the three Great Masters of Science Fiction along with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. His name is closely associated with the golden age of this genre, when he was especially popular among the general public. The promotion of scientific ideas in these works has become an important symbol and forerunner of the Space Race and numerous studies in this direction.

Private life

In the year of graduation from the academy (1929), Heinlein married a girl whom he had known since his school years. However, due to her husband's business trips, the marriage did not work out, and soon the wife filed for divorce. In 1932, Robert decided to connect his life with political activist Leslyn Macdonald. Their marriage lasted longer and ended only in 1947. Then the writer married Virginia Gerstenfeld, whom he met during the war, when heworked in Philadelphia.

The wife had a great influence on her husband's work, she was his manager and secretary. She proofread all of his works before they went to publishers. This played an important role in the activities that Robert Heinlein led. The author's best works include scenes inspired by his wife.