It’s no secret that many Science Fiction and Mystery writers earned extra money churning out “erotic” novels for publishers like Midwood, Beacon, Nightstand, and Tower back in the 1950s and 1960s. Isaac Asimov, Lawrence Block, Bill Pronzini, and Donald E. Westlake all did it. And, so did Robert Silverberg. Stark House has just reprinted Connie/Meg in a new omnibus edition.
Connie (1959) begins with a tragic incident that sends the young girl across the country to stay with her grandparents in the wake of the terrible event. Connie, only 17-years-old, opts to travel to San Francisco instead staying with her family. Once there, Connie decides to embark on a career as a call-girl. Silverberg presents a sympathy portrait of a confused and anxious girl who makes some Bad Decisions.
In Connie, written under the pseudonym of “Loren Beachamp,” Silverberg shows how easily a young girl’s life can unravel with nightmarish consequences. GRADE: B
Meg (1960) tells the story of a young woman driven to achieve stardom. Meg Tandler from Harmons Glen, Idaho, arrives in New York City determined to be a star like Marilyn Monroe or Jayne Mansfield. But Meg has no acting or dancing experience and finds nothing but rejection at the Auditions she tries out for. Meg meets ancient theatrical agent Max Bonaventura, who is also down on his luck. Max sees something in Meg (mostly her physical presence) and begins to build a career for her. First, Meg wins some beauty contests (by sleeping with the guy running the contests). Next, Max gets Meg some minor film roles, but that gives Meg exposure and leads to plenty of publicity.
The saddest part of Meg for me is the “You Can’t Go Home Again” chapter. Max talks Meg into returning to her family in Idaho for a visit. Meg is “welcomed” with hostility and contempt by her mother who rejects Meg’s use of her sexuality to became a movie star. Meg also discovers, when she returns to Hollywood to achieve even more success, that her life is empty and lonely. Silverberg treats both of his women characters with respect and realism. Both women face desperation and find ways to deal with it. GRADE: B+
Nothing like a little sleaze to brighten up the day! You nasty, nasty man!
Asimov didn’t, but he was earning his primary money in the ’50s from his university/med school teaching…till THE INTELLIGENT MAN’S GUIDE TO SCIENCE really made it possible to consider ending his teaching career. The others you cite definitely were making their primary bread from writing, and wrote widely in various fields…perhaps you might’ve been thinking of Barry Malzberg, who was more active in that field than Pronzini? And Fritz Leiber’s YOU’RE ALL ALONE was weirdly sexed-up for first book publication as THE SINFUL ONES, and Leiber obliged Pcket Books in 1980 by rewriting the “blue” passages that had been inserted in his book. (Leiber also wrote a story for TABOO, the porn-publisher Dangerous Visions volume that preceded DV itself.)
Just picked up some of the Stark House Malzberg and Silverberg reprints.
When you consider how much his boss at Boston University hated him, Asimov would be risking a lot, in the climate of the time, if it could be credibly alleged, much less proven, he’d had that kind of novel published…
You definitely put your finger on one of Silverberg’s goals with these novels–to not encourage misogyny. Not all his peers took the same tack.
Pronzini and Jeff Wallman collaborated on twenty or so sleaze novels early in both careers while they were living in Malta, using a number of pen names. These books are far rarer than those published under Hamling’s many imprints. I suspect that both authors would prefer to forget these works.
Somewhat off topic, Marcia Muller once said that the only book she refused to read by Bill Pronzini was a western, DUEL AT GOLD BUTTES by “William Jeffrey” (a Pronzini-Wallman pseudonym), published by Tower Books. She did not mention any of the sleaze novels.
Jerry, many writers wrote for money and I don’t hold that against them. When they achieved success in publishing Good Stuff, the writing of sleaze paperbacks tapered off.
I’ve read several of the Westlake and Block books of the era but don’t think I’ve read any of Silverberg’s. I did hear about these and will check them out. Block is reprinting a lot of his pseudonymous sex books and they are easily available.
Jeff, I’m impressed that Silverberg treated his women characters with respect. Too many of the sleaze paperbacks of that era abused their women characters.
That CONNIE cover—Yikes! No…just no!
Deb, that cover on CONNIE is a relic of the artwork of the late 1950s. The intended audience was lonely men.
Your descriptions suggest some merit in the subject and writing in the novels yet the covers convey none of that. This is a mystery to me.
The publishers Figured They Knew Their Audiences. If you wanted to get all sensitive and humane in the story, hey, that might work, too!
Todd, Robert Silverberg is too good a writer to just follow the “Paint By Number” writing approach most sleaze publishers were satisfied with. Both CONNIE and MEG are a cut above the standards of those paperbacks of that time.
Yeah…it wasn’t Too hard to go Above and Beyond the “acceptable” base in porn writing…then or now. Silverberg has since written for YELLOW SILK, but also even for PENTHOUSE LETTERS (they solicited his work, as I recall…).
Patti, most of these novels like CONNIE and MEG were written to a formula. Silverberg, being the brilliant writer he is, enhanced these books.
I’ve read a few of these things including an earlier Silverberg twofer from Stark House. Once you get past the fact that a good genre writer can write decent sleaze there doesn’t seem to be much point to it. See Dr. Johnson’s (forgivable) remark about women preaching and dogs walking on their hind legs.
Michael, I’m always interested in the early efforts of favorite writers.
Asimov didn’t write sleaze novels, but Block and Silverberg sure did – lots of them from what I’ve read. I wouldn’t bother with any of it.
Rick, what about The Sensuous Dirty Old Man (1971) (As Dr. A) ?
That was Asimov as joker–and not a novel, but a parody, in title at least, of then-popular “how to” guides THE SENSUOUS WOMAN and THE SENSUOUS MAN and the like, published as by single-initial authors (or perhaps written by round-robin committees, as with the actual novel, NAKED CAME THE STRANGER)…while Silverberg, Malzberg and some others (Orrie Hitt comes to mind; Samuel Delany as well Richard Geis to some extent) were trying to add some substance to what were basically buck hustles to everyone else involved in their production and distribution. Hence the usual original packaging for the Silverbergs above, particularly CONNIE.
Todd, thanks for the clarification!
Sadly, under the jokes in the “Dr. A” book is some of the licentiousness that Asimov would act out, particularly in the fannish/SF community. In this way, almost 180 degrees against what Silverberg, Malzberg, Delany et al. were reaching for–the novelists were hoping the reader might find their sex-driven novels thoughtful or at least on the side of liberation, while Asimov’s longish essay in chapbook form was mostly jokes about and actively excusing/encouraging bad behavior. ..
Todd, our standards of behavior have changed. I wince when I read older books that feature licentiousness that just doesn’t fly today.
Asimov’s behavior was often unacceptable in nearly any era, at least without invitation…and he often didn’t worry about whether he’d been invited.
Todd, that pattern was acceptable 30 years ago. It isn’t anymore.
Wow!
I hadn’t known about these or seen these covers before, really nice for a young man to look at …
They remind me of the Carter Brown covers – I bought a few of his novels but gave up soon, not for me.
I just wanted SF!
Wolf, the sleaze paperbacks of the 1950s and 1960s projected the product that was between the covers.
Or hoped to suggest as much as possible.