Abraham Merritt

Born Abraham Grace Merritt in New Jersey in 1884, he became widely known by the byline A. Merritt. Before and alongside his fiction career, he worked in journalism, including at the Philadelphia Inquirer, and later became a prominent editor at The American Weekly.

Merritt is best remembered for fantastic novels and stories such as The Moon Pool, The Metal Monster, and Seven Footprints to Satan. His work mixed lost worlds, mystery, horror, and romance in a rich, atmospheric style that made him one of the standout popular fantasists of the early twentieth century.

He died in 1943, but his reputation lasted well beyond his lifetime. Readers and genre historians continue to remember him as an important bridge between adventure fiction and modern fantasy and science fiction.