“Chrysalis”: Bradbury and Henry Kuttner
“Chrysalis”: Bradbury and Henry Kuttner
This chapter examines how Henry Kuttner influenced Ray Bradbury as a writer. In terms of his overall development as a writer, Bradbury received his most intense mentoring from Kuttner. Although Bradbury correctly sensed that Kuttner believed in his potential and respected his enthusiasm, he never felt that Kuttner wanted to be a close friend. But Kuttner's surviving letters, written after he entered military service in early 1942, proved otherwise: they project a genuine friendship as well as growing professional respect. These letters document the first major opportunity for Bradbury as a science fiction author. This chapter considers Kuttner's role as mentor to Bradbury during his clash with Astounding editor John Campbell over Bradbury's story “Chrysalis” regarding length and narrative point of view.
Keywords: science fiction, Henry Kuttner, Ray Bradbury, mentoring, Astounding, John Campbell, Chrysalis
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