The Long Tomorrow (Cover image via Phoenix Pick)
16. Leigh Brackett
When you get to the point where your peers refer to you as the “Queen of the Space Opera”, you must be doing pretty well. Sure, a few rather snooty people sometimes meant it as an insult, but that just means they can’t have fun.
Leigh Brackett certainly didn’t get to that point by being a slouch. She published her first short story in 1940, in Astounding Science Fiction. Thereafter, Brackett continued writing, publishing, and editing until her death in 1978. She was especially devoted to a sub-genre known as “science fantasy”, which blends elements of both science fiction and fantasy.
Brackett certainly didn’t get paid well or received much acclaim for that focus, but it was clearly one near and dear to her. According to one anecdote, when an aunt asked why Brackett didn’t simply write something nice for the Ladies’ Home Journal, Brackett replied: “I wish I could, because they pay very well, but I can’t read the Ladies’ Home Journal, and I’m sure I couldn’t write for it”. There’s something to be said for sticking to your convictions, at least.
Brackett’s work on film
Not only did she dominate in the often hostile male-centric world of sci-fi, but she was also a renowned screenwriter. Along with William Faulkner and Jules Furthman, she wrote the 1946 screenplay for The Big Sleep. She also co-wrote the script for Rio Bravo (1959), El Dorado (1967) and The Long Goodbye (1973).
For all of the work, she may be best known for her role in writing an early script for 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back. Though George Lucas later said that her first draft wasn’t quite what he wanted, you can argue that many of her story beats are what helped to make the second Star Wars film great. Though she died of cancer before she could complete rewrites or even see the finished film, her legacy remains alive today.