Claimed (Paperback or Softback)

Claimed (1920) is a science fiction novel by Francis Stevens. Using her well-known pseudonym, Gertrude Barrows Bennett published some of the twentieth century’s greatest science fiction stories and novels. Claimed, her final novel, has been recognized as a powerful tale of dark fantasy for its combination of nautical adventure and the occult, and remains central to Stevens’ reputation as a pioneering author of fantasy and science fiction. “From where we stood the illusion of ruins was nearly perfect, and indeed―who knows?―we may to-day have looked upon the last surviving trace of some ancient city, flung up from the abyss that engulfed it ages before the brief history we have of the race of man began.” On a voyage at sea, a merchant vessel chances upon a recently formed volcanic island. Unable to stay for long, mesmerized by the geometric rock formations reaching their pinnacle at its smoldering center, they take a memento of their discovery: a small, rectangular block of a metallic green color, perfect for carving into a sea chest. Eventually, the artifact makes its way into the collection of Jesse J. Robinson, a famous antiquarian from Tremont, a town located along the Delaware River. When Robinson and his niece Leilah fall victim to powerful hallucinations, Doctor John Vanaman is brought in to help. Soon, he launches an investigation into the nature of the box, tracking down its original owner and the dealer who sold it to Robinson. To his horror, they seem to have succumbed to the same madness plaguing the antiquarian’s home.

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Francis Stevens was the pseudonym of Gertrude Barrows Bennett (1884-1948), an American writer of science fiction and fantasy novels. Born in Minneapolis, Stevens wrote her first story at 17, finding publication in popular pulp magazine Argosy. Believed to be one of the first American women to publish a work of science fiction, Bennett gained a nationwide reputation as a leading short story writer with such tales as “The Nightmare” (1917), “Friend Island” (1918), and “Serapion” (1920). Additionally, Bennett published several novels throughout her career, including The Citadel of Fear (1918), The Heads of Cerberus (1919), and Claimed! (1920). To supplement her writing, Stevens―who was widowed in 1910 when her husband Stewart Bennett died at sea―worked as a stenographer to support herself, her daughter, and her invalid mother. Credited with influencing H. P. Lovecraft and A. Merritt, Bennett is recognized as a pioneering figure in the history of science fiction.