Talk:Golden Age of Science Fiction

Sources for particular time periods

I'm going to start a list here of sources for the dates of the Golden Age; I'm doing this because I'm working on the Astounding Stories article, and I need to get the term sourced consistently, but I figure it'd be more useful to put the list here.

• Starts in summer 1939 -- SFE3 article on ASF
• Consensus that the start is some time after Campbell takes over ASF -- SFE3 article on Golden Age
• Period that begins with Campbell's editorship -- Brian Attebery in Cambridge Companion to SF, p. 37.
• "enjoyed an adolescence and a Golden Age before 1940 or so and matured steadily through the Eisenhower years" -- John Clute in Cambridge Companion to SF, p. 65.
• "But this 'Golden Age', like the Gernsback era before it, actually lasted little more than a decade" -- Gary K. Wolfe in Cambridge Companion to SF, p. 99.
• Alva Rogers gives the July 1939 issue as the start; quoted in Aldiss/Wingrove's Trillion Year Spree, pp. 217-218; also quoted by David Kyle in his Pictorial History of SF, p. 110.
• "The period 1940-42 has been called a Golden Age, not just of Astounding but of all science fiction". Mike Ashley in Holdstock's Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, p. 58.
• "...the 'Golden Age', the decade of exciting innovation that began when Campbell took over the editorship of Astounding". Jack Williamson, Wonder's Child, p. 128.
• 1938-1949 -- Erik Leif Davin, Pioneers of Wonder, p. 16.

-- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 15:16, 9 October 2016 (UTC)

Also see , much of which is preserved in Brave New Words, edited by Jeff Prucher, p. 80. I was one of the people who ran that website for years, so I think it would be a conflict of interest for me to add anything based on that or based on Brave New Words. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 18:38, 9 October 2016 (UTC)

For what it's worth, it would appear that Aldiss' reading of Rogers is simplifying Rogers' position quite a bit. Rogers specifically calls the July 1939 issue of Astounding "the first real harbinger of Astounding's Golden Age" (A Requiem for Astounding, p. 68), having earlier equated science fiction's Golden Age with Astounding's (p. 59). A harbinger, of course, comes before something. Indeed, Rogers goes on to say "it wasn't until 1940 that the Golden Age came into full being" (p. 75), and says "And so the first year of the 'bedsheet' size Astounding, and the third year of the Golden Age, ends" (p. 112) after discussing the December 1942 issue—if 1942 was the third year, then 1941 was the second year and 1940 the first year (or perhaps this should be taken as the third full year?). Rogers goes on to say that "Tradition and nostalgia have ineradicably fixed upon the years currently under discussion the designation of the Golden Age, but if we must chop the time-line of Astounding into eras, or ages, or whatever, for the sake of accuracy this period should rightfully be labeled the Second Golden Age. To mark the demarcation line between a Golden Age and the preceeding and following years is an extremely difficult task; actually, almost impossible." (p. 127) while designating the first few years of F. Orlin Tremaine's editorship the first Golden Age (pp. 127–128). Nevertheless, Rogers does say "It is easy enough to ascribe the beginning of this second Golden Age to the July, 1939 issue; the hazard sets in when you attempt to pinpoint the ending. I'm going to meet this problem head on, and pinpoint it at December, 1943." (p. 128). Rogers adds further nuance with "The Golden Age of Astounding is something thought of as having embraced the entire decade of the forties, particularly by those fans to whom this era of science fiction is but legend. Many fans who were reading Astounding at this time, or collectors with a scholarly approach to science fiction more often narrow it down to the war years—1940 through 1945. The heart of the Golden Age is bracketed by the July, 1939 and the December, 1943 issues, with the peak being the years 1940, 1941, and 1942." (p. 155). Rogers also repeatedly refers to the "Golden Age of the forties" (p. 65, p. 216) and once the "Golden Age of the early forties" (p. 69). I can't really agree with Aldiss' assessment that Rogers "is definite about the date" (Trillion Year Spree, p. 217). TompaDompa (talk) 01:04, 8 July 2025 (UTC)

There's also this; I had thought it was Hartwell who came up with that line, but apparently it goes back to 1960. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 00:53, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

Which I now see is already mentioned in the article; should have looked. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 01:25, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

Hm. Is Quote Investigator considered a WP:Reliable source? I looked to see if I could find any previous consensus (or at minimum discussion) about it at WP:RSN without any success, but I could conceivably have missed it (or looked in the wrong place?). It might be rather useful if it is indeed reliable, and the website's "about" page suggests that perhaps it should be considered reliable (Who uses this website? Articles on the Quote Investigator® website have been cited by journalists and writers at The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Economist, The Washington Post, Slate, The Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, Real Clear Politics, The Jacksonville Times-Union, NPR, A Way With Words (Public Radio Program), ABC Television News, ABC (Australia), and more.). TompaDompa (talk) 01:07, 18 July 2025 (UTC)