What would it have been like to discover science fiction in 1930?

It was the most promising of times.  Technology had advanced in astonishing ways in the preceding two decades, opening minds to almost infinite possibilities.

It was the most frightening of times. The Great Depression cast a pall over society. Brutal world conflict was still a fresh memory. The rise of fascism loomed on the horizon.

It’s said that “the Golden Age of science fiction is twelve” – an age when the mind is developed enough to grasp new ideas but still open enough to accept them.  If you had reached this age in the late 1920s or early 1930s, you might have stumbled across the emerging torrent of imaginative fiction that sought to bring these dreams and nightmares to life. You might have been swept up in the way these stories expanded your view of the universe and the possible.

Our award-winning books bring to life the experience of the pioneering fans who were instrumental in defining, promoting and supporting science fiction in the 1930s and beyond.