Jirel of Joiry is riding down with the score of men at her hack,
For
none is safe in the outer lands from Jirel's outlaw pack;
The vaults
of the wizard are over-full, and locked with golden key,
And Jirel
says, 'If he hath so much, then he shall share with me!'
- Quest of the Starstone
N-Spiration: Jirel of Joiry
Who is Jirel?
The Lady of Joiry - unconquered - hair crimson like flame; eyes yellow and
vibrant! Taking no husband, as no man can yet best her - Joiry needs no lord
so long as it has its queen!
Jirel - our protagonist - is the sword half of a sword and sorcery yarn: a
ruler by day, warlord and baroness over a middle ages fiefdom, but
far-traveled afield among the strange places that wait in parallel to the
Earth - for body and for spirit. She is a master of the blade - wielding a two
handed sword in battle, wearing heavy mail armor: but is no stranger to dirks
and daggers. Inspired by - or at least influenced by - the days of struggle
and adventure in
Aquilonia
or in
Pellucidar, Jirel is brash and brave - as strong of arm as she is strong of will - her
loves deep, but her enmities without restraint.
A product of the golden age of pulp, Jirel also represents among the earliest
of protagonists in the fantasy adventure genre and within the newsstand medium
hailing from the fairer sex: something that - in particular - is of note, in
that she is also among the first (or, at least, the foundational) to have been
written by a likewise female author: C. L. Moore.
Of C. L. Moore
C. L. - or, Catherine Lucille - Moore was a native of Indianapolis, born into
the first World War (technically just before in 1911), grown in the Roaring
'20s, and then broke onto the professional and literary scene during the Great
Depression. Her first publications for a student magazine at Indiana
University, at which she matriculated, went to print between 1930 and 1931 -
only two short years before her first appearance in pulp magazines in 1933: at
which point she adopted her initials as a pseudo-pen name. Curiously - in a
world dominated by men, that is: the world of pulp fantasy and really
literature in general in the 1930s - one might think that she adopted her
initials rather than continue to publish as Catherine as a marketing ploy,
concealing her gender: however, on all accounts, it was more so that writing
was her passion, not her livelihood - she perceived it better to separate her
writing persona from her real name to conceal it from her then employer,
Fletcher Trust Company, for which she was employed as a secretary.
Early in life, C. L. Moore experienced chronic illness that prevented her from
engaging in many typical girlhood pursuits. Instead, she spent a great deal of
time reading - developing during that time a taste and fondness for fantasy: a
taste and fondness which would turn into a knack - and eventually then into a
vocation.
Her pulp fiction career would run until 1958 with the death of her husband,
fellow author Henry Kuttner - with whom she collaborated under various pen
names. Thereafter, she would teach writing at the University of Southern
California and work occasionally as a screenwriter - but following her
remarriage to Thomas Reggie, her writing ceased and her creative career was at
an end.
C. L. Moore would pass in 1987 at the age of 76 after a battle against
Alzheimer's: but not without having received the Fritz Leiber Award in 1978,
the Gandalf Grand Master Award in 1981, and a posthumous honor: induction into
the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
And fires flame high on the altar fane in the lair of the wizard folk,
And
magic crackles and Jirel's name goes whispering through the
smoke.
- Quest of the Starstone
Why should I read Jirel of Joiry?
First and foremost, a red-headed swords-woman, capable as any man, free of
spirit and fiery of temper, is a staple of sword and sorcery - having been
popularized tremendously by the cultural phenomenon around
Red Sonja. Thus - as I'm sure the reader has already inferred - it becomes important
to make a parallel, showing the influences that Jirel would have had on
Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith's brainchild.
-
In her original 1975 incarnation, Sonja wore a mail shirt and fought with a
longsword.
In 1935, Jirel Meets Magic, Jirel wears full armor,
wielding a longsword.
-
In 1975, Sonja is favored by Scáthach, but must never lie with a man who
doesn't defeat her in combat.
-
In 1934, Black God's Shadow, Jirel - though shriven of her sins by
Gervase, the priest, she finds she has only ever loved the man who was able
to best her.
-
In 1977, Sonja is cast into a maze of illusions and mirrors for rescuing a
waif from brigands.
In 1935, again Jirel Meets Magic, Jirel is
cast into a tower of illusions and mirrors to seek an evil sorcerous pair.
- In 1985... well... we won't talk about what happened in 1985.
The inspiration is obvious - and it is not the intent of this article to
denigrate the Marvel series: but instead to illustrate the progression, the
evolution of the independent and fierce heroine, as it pertains to the
storytelling of modern sword and sorcery. While Sonja has moved on and changed
with the times - new authors, new artists moving her arc forward, much the
same as Conan (whose author, Robert E. Howard, penned the tale from which
Sonja draws her name,
The Shadow of the Vulture: interestingly in 1934... in a similar timetable as when Jirel appeared...)
has been moved forward as his legacy moves from IP-holder to IP-holder in the
wake of the author's passing - Jirel is unchanged: frozen in the brickwork,
its legacy providing the giants' shoulders on which the Isaac Newtons of pulp
adventure may stand.
So in short - if you enjoy or are inspired by Red Sonja, you are
likely to find common enjoyment and inspiration in Jirel of Joiry.
To branch away from the comparison - and to tie into another key element that
permeates Appendix N: Jirel is set in the real world... with the
exception that the protagonist regularly finds herself involved - voluntarily
or not - with the supernatural. Spirit realms, alternate realities, and worlds
beyond our own are consistent themes in Jirel's adventures - a form of portal
fantasy where Joiry, her home base, is - if
Quest of the Starstone is to be believed - is in France at the
turnover of the 15th century into the 16th: but then the demon prince who has
abducted her for his bride - not France at all! The hidden hell beneath the
flagstones of the castle: again, France disappears - Earth with it - into a
whole new planet. Which is another thing -
The Black God's Kiss: the first story in the
Jirel of Joiry collection: the entire premise is going deeply
under an ancient castle and into an alternative reality: a mythic underworld
too horrifying, to alien to remain in for long - where darkness itself becomes
a commodity: groping through the unseen, far from the sun, and skirmishing
with (or hiding from) the strange creatures found underneath. Have you ever
run a mythic underworld? So has C. L. Moore.
But not every encounter is a combat.
Jirel has to use her discernment to identify which battles she can win and
which battles are best fought in the mind - and further, which battles can be
won if a weakness, a hidden mystery or flaw is determined and exploited. In
1936's The Dark Land - for example - Jirel manages to turn a reaction
roll in her favor: learning from a banshee about how to defeat a demon king,
otherwise invincible to mortal means. Jirel doesn't shy away from a fight -
and isn't afraid to take knocks where they come - but she knows that a fight
isn't always in her favor: and if that means negotiating with a hidden spirit
for unknown malevolent magic? So be it.
Lastly - as might have been inferred from the examples, but that can't be
overstated: recall, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy was
published between 1954 and 1955. While The Hobbit had been
published earlier, it was The Lord of the Rings which sealed his
place as the father of modern epic fantasy. Jirel of Joiry - the
stories therein - were all written before even that: the latest among them,
Quest of the Starstone, being published in November if 1937 - easily
half a year before Houton-Mifflin brought The Hobbit across the
Atlantic the following spring. And again - this is not to denigrate Tolkien -
but instead to praise Moore: her work was done in a Tolkien vacuum. Fantasy
before The Lord of the Rings is its own bear - its own tone - its
own entity: uncorrupted by comparisons made to the ever-popular Middle Earth.
For that reason - Jirel is refreshing, even to one whose tastes
are different to those of the reviewer, as it is a breath of fresh air. It
cannot be compared to Tolkien, reacting against or conforming to, because
Moore would not have been aware of it. For this reason - if no other - like
the work of Burroughs, like the work of Dunsany, like the work of L. Sprague
de Camp... it is written from a place where fantasy was at greater liberty,
executed without the need for license to deviate from elves and dwarves: and
if for nothing else, it's a brilliant read - seeing into the world of sword
and sorcery, of adventure fantasy, as it was - before the genre was turned
over to epics.
 |
Jirel technically does not go to space. But the space man is a C. L. Moore character. |
Of Note
As mentioned, the author - Catherine Moore - is female and did not make any
effort, nor showed any intention, to hide the fact. This is evident in the
writing - I think - in that it feels different than action-fantasy written in
a parallel timeframe by her male contemporaries. There is greater introspection - more character emotion - and as frequently as not, those
same emotions, that same cognition and intuition, make prominent features across the
story.
This is not uniquely because she is female - the
stories are action packed and do not shy away from traditional elements of
sword and sorcery: black magic, red blades, ... - and I've met plenty of women very
capable of appreciating and enjoying male authors like Anderson
or C. A. Smith -
but there is a distinct tone, a different-ness to the stories which make
Jirel of Joiry stand out among Appendix N stories. I am reminded -
when I was younger - reading the works of C. J. Cherryh - Hugo
Award winner and author of works like the
Fortress series
and
Heroes in Hell: I will not speak poorly of the works, but as you read, you can tell a female author penned them.
There is a bit of antiquated language, a bit of "old feel" - you can
tell it was written in the 1930s - but that's the case for most of
Appendix N. Thus, it wouldn't be fair to hold it against the book nor the stories
therein. Over all - there is very little that I would criticize this series over.
Further Reading
For those fond of C. L. Moore and her style - during her career, she authored
dozens of other books and stories - cataloged quite conveniently on the
Science Fiction Encyclopedia: convenient because many of these works were written under a pen name, or in
collaboration with other authors - frequently her husband, Henry Kuttner.
Some are of a fantastic or portal-fantasy vibe - others venturing into science
fiction or other genres. While I intend to dig deeper into the list over time,
as of this article, I will be at the mercy of you, the reader, to tell me
which ones you like - as opposed to Jirel, for which I can make my own
recommendation.
But magic fails in the stronger spell that the Joiry outlaws own:
The
splintering crash of a broad sword blade that shivers against the bone,
And
blood that bursts through a warlock's teeth can strangle a half-voiced
spell,
Though it rises hot from the blistering holes on the red hot
floor of Hell!
- Quest of the Starstone
In Conclusion
Jirel of Joiry is quintessential Appendix N. Containing open
battle against evil sorceries, ranging through portals into strange
underworlds, and indulging in deep dungeon delves: confined or otherwise in
search of power or for the sake of exploration, itself -
Jirel of Joiry works very well to inspire an OSR game table and
deserves a place in our cherished appendix.
It would be unfair and dishonest to rate Jirel of Joiry anything
other than 1: Full-Armor OSR.
Several reprints and republications of the Jirel stories exist -
and there being only a handful of them, they will make a quick read and small
addition to your personal gaming library. I am glad to have found this book,
and I hope you too might give it a chance - as it will improve, or at a
minimum compliment, your OSR game.
Thank you for reading - and delve on!
Golden Age Masterworks: Jirel of Joiry was published in 2019 by
Gollancz, an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group Ltd., Carmelite House,
London, UK - a Hachette UK company. Cover art for Jirel of Joiry,
1969 printing, is not credited - however the collection was published by
Paperback Library. Cover for
The Complete Jirel of Joiry illustrated by Arnold Tsang is
copyright 2016 to Jerry eBooks. Cover for French edition Jirel de Joiry / Les adventures de Northwest Smith, painted by Hervé Leblan and retrieved from PulpCovers.com in December 2024.
Stories contained within
Jirel of Joiry - Black God's Kiss, Black God's Shadow,
Jirel Meets Magic, The Dark Land,
Quest of the Starstone, and Hellsgarde - are copyright C.
L. Moore, jointly with Henry Kuttner in the case of
Quest of the Starstone, and originally published in Weird Tales
magazine.
Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, and all imagery or
references thereto related are property of Wizards of the Coast.
Red Sonja, 1973, illustration is by Barry Windsow-Smith, published
and owned by Marvel Comics - as of 2005, the Red Sonja intellectual property is owned and copyrighted by Dynamite
Comics.
Clerics Wear Ringmail makes no claim of ownership of any sort to any of the
aforementioned media, text, or images and includes references to or
facsimiles of them for review purposes under US Code Title 17, Chapter 107:
Fair Use.
The slide-in of Gary... I got from a meme.