Edgar Pangborn

Born in New York City in 1909, Edgar Pangborn wrote mystery, historical, and science fiction. Reliable reference sources describe him as the son of writer Georgia Wood Pangborn, and they note that he also studied music before publishing fiction under his own name and at least one pseudonym.

Pangborn is most closely associated with science fiction that blends big ideas with an intimate, compassionate style. Reference works especially highlight West of the Sun (1953), A Mirror for Observers (1954), and the later Davy sequence, which helped build his reputation among readers of post-apocalyptic fiction.

He died in 1976. Although never as widely known as some of his contemporaries, Pangborn has remained a writer readers return to for his warmth, intelligence, and unusual emotional depth.