A. Bertram Chandler

(March 28, 1912 – June 6, 1984)

Arthur Bertram Chandler, a British-born Australian writer and merchant marine officer who was a fan and began publishing SF with "This Means War" in Astounding (May, 1944).

Chandler was GoH at Chicon IV, the 1982 Worldcon. In 1996, he was nominated for the 1946 Best Novella Retro Hugo for "Giant Killer".

He drew upon his experiences at sea to write a series of space operas set in the Rim Worlds at the edge of interstellar civilization during a period of human expansion, beginning with "To Run the Rim" in Amazing (January, 1959). He used the pseudonyms of George Whitley, John Grimes, and Andrew Dunstan. Whitley appears as a character in Arthur C. Clarke's Tales from the White Hart, a collection of stories loosely inspired by the London Circle meetings at The White Horse Tavern.

His many novels included The Rim of Space (1961), Beyond the Galactic Rim (1963), The Road to the Rim (1967), The Rim Gods (1969), The Way Back (1976), and Star Courier (1977).

His best-known works centered on the character John Grimes, and include the greeting, “Come in. This is Liberty Hall. You can spit on the mat and call the cat a bastard!” first used in The Road to the Rim, where it appears four times. (“Liberty Hall” appears to have originated in Oliver Goldsmith’s 1773 play, “She Stoops to Conquer”: “This is Liberty-hall, gentlemen. You may do just as you please here.” Later writers who employed variants include Robert A. Heinlein and Terry Pratchett.)

The A. Bertram Chandler Award for "outstanding achievement in Australian science fiction" was named in his honor.

Arthur Bertram Chandler, Master Navigator of Space: A Working Bibliography was published in 1989 by Gordon Benson, Jr.

Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1948 -- Whitcon
• 1969 -- Ditmar Award
• 1971 -- Ditmar Award
• 1975 -- Ditmar Award, Invisible Little Man Award
• 1976 -- Q-Con III, Ditmar Award
• 1978 -- Marcon XIII
• 1979 -- Unicon V
• 1981 -- Norcon I
• 1982 -- Chicon IV
• 1996 -- 1946 Best Novella Retro Hugo finalist

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Person

1912—1984

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