Seabury Quinn

The name of Seabury Quinn is inextricably linked with the 'unique magazine', Weird Tales, to which he contributed some one hundred and fifty-nine stories and articles, making him that publication's most prolific contributor. His most conspicuous success was the series of tales featuring the occult detective Jules de Grandin, which always left readers clamouring for more. Indeed, de Grandin almost became to Quinn what Sherlock Holmes became to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: so overwhelmingly popular a creation that he threatened to overshadow completely his author's other successes. However, Seabury Quinn, like Conan Doyle, had a great deal more to offer than a single character. During his lifetime Quinn read widely in the fields of horror, supernatural, and weird fiction, as well as ranging further afield through books devoted to the occult, mysticism, witchcraft, legends, Satanism, and ancient religious customs. He was thus able to imbue his weird fiction with historical and sociological trappings which gave them an immediacy and vibrancy several cuts above the usual pulp offerings; and this, combined with his sheer skill in storytelling, keeps his stories fresh and alive today.