Mary Doria Russell - 1950
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Sycamore High School, Ohio
I. Biography
Mary Doria Russell was born near Chicago, Illinois in 1950 (Russell, "About"). Her mother was a Navy nurse, and her father a Marine Corps drill sergeant. As a child, Russell attended Sacred Heart Catholic Elementary, and participated in activities such as Girl Scouts (Russell, "About").
Russell then attended college and got a degree, and later a Ph. D. (Russell, "Some") in paleoanthropology with a concentration in both biomechanics and bone biology
(Russell, "About"). Mary Doria was married in 1970 to Don Russell. They adopted their son Daniel in 1985, while studying in Croatia (Russell, "About"). She also
did research in Australia. She taught anatomy at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland until her "academic department was downsized out of existence in the late 80s" (Russell qtd. in Gevers). At this point,
Russell was living in Cleveland, Ohio, having moved there in 1983. She was offered a job at the University of Calgary, but, according to Russell, "about ten seconds after I accepted the offer, one of the Canadian faculty
members threatened to sue the department if the job was given to an American." Not wishing to cause problems, Russell withdraw her acceptance (Gevers).
After leaving the Academe, Russell wrote many technical manuals for different kinds of equipment. She continued writing this way until most of her "contracts dried up" which caused her to act on her idea of what she thought "might be a short story" (Russell qtd. in Gevers). This "short story" later became published and known as The Sparrow. Immediately after finishing The Sparrow, Russell started work on its sequel, Children of God (Russell E-mail). According to Russell, Children of God took years to complete because of interviews, meetings, and publicity dealing with The Sparrow, which only took a year (Russell "Frequently"). The Sparrow was published in 1996; Children of God, 1998.
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II. Writing Habits and Locations
Mary Doria Russell has compared her writing habits to the old football analogy by getting "a little further down the field" each day (Russell E-mail). Each day she wakes up, grabs a cup of coffee and heads to her office on the second floor of her house. Russell says that sometimes life takes over and she is unable to get solid work. So, "if [she] really needs to concentrate, [she] checks into a hotel room […] just for a weekend" where she can edit, read, compose, etc. without the daily tasks of life (Russell E-mail).
III. Published Works
So far in her career, Russell has published two novels,
many technical manuals, as well as a multitude of articles in juried scientific journals as an anthropologist. Her first novel, The Sparrow, was written between 1992 and 1993.
It was published in 1996. Her second novel, Children of God, was written between 1993 and 1998; the final touches placed the morning of publishing (Russell E-mail).
IV. Awards
1997 James Tipree, Jr. Award
This award is presented annually to the author of a science fiction or fantasy novel which best explores gender roles.
1998 British Science Fiction Association's Best Novel Award
This is awarded annually.
1998 Arthur C. Clarke Award
This award is presented annually to the author of the best British science fiction novel published in Britain in the past year.
1998 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
This award is voted on by the members of the World Con science fiction convention, and presented annually
to the best new writer in science fiction.
1998 Cleveland Arts Council Prize for Literature
This award honors a writer who brings distinction to themselves and to the region.
1999 Friends of the Library Readers Choice Award
This is awarded annually to the novel that the library patrons enjoyed reading.
V. Influences
Russell has noted that Dorothy Dunnett's writings have had the greatest influence on Russell's work (Russell E-mail). For a number of years, Russell studied the prose in the Lymond Chronicles , written by Dunnett. "Her prose is gorgeous-there's no other word for it," Russell has stated. Stylistically, T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom has influenced her. She also consciously used Ursula K. LeGuin's Left Hand of Darkness as a benchmark for fine science fiction. Russell describes the book to be very rich anthropologically and comments that it has very developed, memorable characters-an aspect Russell tried to emulate in her novels.
Although Russell has enjoyed watching Cleveland develop over the 18 years she has lived there, she has stated that she does not know of any other influence that it has had (Russell E-mail).
VI. Interviews
Mary Doria Russell has participated in multiple interviews.
In her interview (http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/intmdr.htm) with Nick Gevers of InfinityPlus, Russell's background, history, characterization, ideology and religion are all topics of discussion.
In her interview (http://members.stratos.net/druss44121/butler.html) with Andrew Butler of The Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association, Russell not only discusses some themes in her books, but also some background information and discussion of the books with regard to motives.
In her interview (http://members.stratos.net/druss44121/kaveney.html) with Roz Kaveney of Amazon/UK, Russell responds to questions which bring forth issues of religion, motives for the characters in the book as well as motives for herself writing the book, as well as her style.
In her interview (http://www.sfrevu.com/b42k/issues/01-10/Default.htm#TheSparrow) with Ernest Lilley of SFRevu, Russell discusses The Sparrow with regard to its science fiction nature.
In her interview (http://jesuit.org/Pages/russinter.html) with the National Jesuit News, Russell talks about religion's presence in the book as well as her reasoning for choosing a Jesuit priest as the main character.
In another interview (http://aukon.sf.org.nz/Mary Russell.htm), Russell fielded questions about her inspirations to write, her movie plans for The Sparrow, and her future goals.
VII. Critical Reviews
The majority of reviews of both The Sparrow and Children of God are very enthusiastic. Russell is praised for her "witty and affecting characterizations, eloquent, sometimes sensuous prose, [and] a general humorous exuberance" (Gevers). She is able to "present [Life's Big Questions] within a fresh context and an enthralling narrative" ("Priests"), while keeping "the tone from getting too heavy, despite the weighty philosophical and spiritual [ideas] being explored" (Miller). Both books are also acclaimed for their style – "a cleverly constructed series of flashbacks" (Irving). Simply stated, The Sparrow and Children of God "are excellent novels and well worth reading" (Nepveu), for to some, The Sparrow is "a parable for our times and a potential classic" (Moore).
There are a few reviews, however, which do not give these novels as high remarks. The first case that these reviews make is that The Sparrow is too closely aligned with John Blish's A Case of Conscience (Owen). The second most common complaint is that her novels are not true science fiction (Grimwood) and therefore The Sparrow should not have won the James Tiptree Award (Owen). Last of all, some have showed that there are gaping holes in Russell's plot. One critic remarked that "planets that have conveniently Earth-like atmospheres, abundant plants that are edible to humans […] and bipedal aliens that can learn English easily are easy to criticize" (Grimwood). Although some readers are not as fond of Russell's novels, they do admit that the "book is beautifully written" (Grimwood).
The two most informative reviews that praise Russell are can be found on the net:
Ernest Lilley http://www.sfrevu.com/b42k/issues/01-10/Default.htm#TheSparrow
Nick Gevers http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/intmdr.htm
The two most informative reviews that discredit Russell's novels can be found on the net:
John D. Owen http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/sparjdo.htm
Jon Courtenay Grimwood http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/sparjcg.htm
VIII. How to contact Mary Doria Russell
Mary Doria Russell can be reached through e-mail at , as she "much prefers e-mail" to the telephone (Russell E-mail).
IX. Extra Information
Some very helpful websites:
This is Mary Doria Russell's homepage and contains a few interviews, biographical information, in-depth movie plans etc. compiled by Russell herself: http://members.stratos.net/druss44121/sparrow.html
This is Infinity Plus's section on Mary Doria Russell and it includes an interview and several reviews: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/sparjcg.htm
This is the most complete interview. It discusses topics from her biography to the content of her books: http://members.stratos.net/druss44121/butler.html
X. Works Cited
Butler, Andrew M. "Interview with Andrew M. Butler for Vector 200 The Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association." Homepage of Mary Doria Russell. 10 Feb. 2001 <http://members.stratos.net/druss44121/butler.html>.
Gevers, Nick. "Of Prayers and Predators: An Interview with Mary Doria Russell." Infinity Plus . 5 Feb. 2001 <http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/intmdr.htm>.
Grimwood, Jon Courtenay. "The Sparrow." Infinity Plus. 21 April 1998. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/sparjcg.htm>.
"Insight From Afar." National Jesuit News. June. 1998 <http://jesuit.org/Pages/russinter.html>.
Irving, Eoghann. "Sparrow and Children of God by Russell, Mary Doria." Solar Flare. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://sflare.com/books/reviews/review32.html>.
Kaveney, Roz. "Interview with Roz Kaveney-Amazon/UK." Homepage of Mary Doria Russell. 10 Feb. 2001 <http://members.stratos.net/druss44121/kaveney.html>.
Lilley, Ernest. "October 1997 Vol. 1.4." SFRevu. 19 Feb. 2001. <http://www.sfrevu.com/b42k/issues/01-10/Default.htm#TheSparrow>.
"Mary Doria Russell." Aukon . June 2000. 19 Feb. 2001 <http://aukon.sf.org.nz/Mary%20Russell.htm>.
Miller, Laurie. "A flight of fancy into matters of faith." USA Today. 2 Dec. 1999. 8 Feb. 2001 <http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/books/leb681.htm>.
Moore, Christopher. "The Sparrow." The Press. 22 April. 2000. 16 Feb. 2001 <http://www.elibrary.com/s/edumark/getdoc.cgi?id=188643912x127y36779w0&OIDS=0Q014 D000&Form=RL&pubname=The_Press_(Canterbury,_New_Zealand)&puburl=http~C~~S~ ~S~www.inl.co.nz&querydocid=26180148@urn:bigchalk.com:US;EL&dtype=0~0&dinst=0> .
Nepveu, Kate. "Review: The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell, and Use of Weapons, Iain M. Banks." Steelypips. 17 Nov. 1997. 2 Feb. 2001 <http://steelypips.org/paired/spar_userv.html>.
Owen, John D. "A Case of Conscience for Mary Doria Russell." Infinity Plus . 5 Feb. 2001 <http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/sparjdo.htm>.
"Priests in Space." Strange Words. 2 Feb. 2001 <http://strangewords.com/archive/sparrow.html>.
Russell, Mary Doria. "About the Author." Homepage of Mary Doria Russell. 27 July. 2000. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://members.stratos.net/druss44121/bio.html>.
Russell, Mary Doria. E-mail Interview. 12 Feb. 2001.
Russell, Mary Doria. "Frequently Asked Questions." Homepage of Mary Doria Russell. 27 July. 2000. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://members.stratos.net/druss44121/faqs.html>.
Russell, Mary Doria. "Movie Version of The Sparrow." Homepage of Mary Doria Russell. 27 July. 2000. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://members.stratos.net/druss44121/movie.html>.
Russell, Mary Doria. "Some Awards." Homepage of Mary Doria Russell. 27 July. 2000. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://members.stratos.net/druss44121/tiptree.html>.
This was submitted by a student of Breen Reardon, an English teacher at Sycamore High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.