This woman encased in emerald from the November 1941 cover of Astonishing Stories conveys a real tube girl or ASFR feel, but unfortunately is unattributed and also, in its Internet Archive version, a little battered. There is a slightly more vivid and clean, but also smaller, version of the cover to be found at Galactic Central. It appears to illustrate the story “My Lady of the Emerald,” by Robert A.W. Lowndes (1916-1998), one of many writers who began his career with the encouragement of H.P. Lovecraft. The story has an interior illustration by Leo Morey, whose work we have seen before on this site.
If you want or need to, you can catch up on the entire story to date by either going to the first page and navigating through page-by-page using the arrows at the top, or you can read the story ten pages at a time by opening the Learning from Elders category on this site.
Lucy Fidelis modeled this “cover” to the Brenda-Pamela series after an old pulp novel cover. Works for me! I have made this image available in full resolution. Click to load or right-click to download.
I have made this image available in full resolution and, more than most images, this special wide page deserves to be seen in it. Click on the image to load or right-click to download.
If you want or need to, you can catch up on the entire story to date by either going to the first page and navigating through page-by-page using the arrows at the top, or you can read the story ten pages at a time by opening the Learning from Elders category on this site.
Panel 1: Claudia sitting back in her cabin writing a letter at a tiny desk.
CAPTION – PSEUDO-NARRATION (1): Within a few hours, the arrangements are made.
Translation (1): Entro poche ore, si prendono gli accordi.
CAPTION – PSEUDO-NARRATION (2): Claudia writes one last letter to her academic advisor, thanking her for her support.
Translation (2): Claudia scrive un’ultima lettera al suo consulente accademico, ringraziandolo per il suo sostegno.
Panel 2: Claudia taking a capsule from Hiram in his shipboard lab.
Hiram (3): It has been recalibrated…
Translation (3): È stato ricalibrato…
Claudia (4): And if you got it wrong this time, I swear I will return from my watery grave and drag you back down with me.
Translation (4): E se hai sbagliato questa volta, giuro che tornerò dalla mia tomba d’acqua e ti trascinerò giù con me.
Panel 3: Claudia walking down a narrow ship’s corridor, with Turpentine behind her.
Turpentine (5): We cannot emphasize enough how much your sacrifice is appreciated, Dr. Honeywood…
Translation (5): Non possiamo sottolineare abbastanza quanto il tuo sacrificio sia apprezzato, Dott.ssa. Honeywood…
Claudia (6): Kindly go fuck yourself, Eustace.
Translation (6): Gentilmente vai a farti fottere, Eustace.
Panel 4: Claudia walking out on deck. She’s fully clothed, wearing the same skirt and button-down blouse combination she was wearing when she came aboard the RV Seagoon. A few sailors with hang-dog expressions look on.
Claudia (7): You all are going to have to get your peep-show somewhere else today.
Translation (7): Oggi dovresti fare il tuo peep-show da qualche altra parte.
If you want or need to, you can catch up on the entire story to date by either going to the first page and navigating through page-by-page using the arrows at the top, or you can read the story ten pages at a time by opening the Learning from Elders category on this site.
Panel 1: An imagined future panel showing Claudia carrying a cardboard box of her possessions out of an office building, escorted by a pair of security guards.
CAPTION – CLAUDIA NARRATING (1): I’ll be blackballed everywhere. My hard-earned career in science will be over.
Translation (1): Sarò rifiutata ovunque. La mia sudata carriera nella scienza sarà finita.
CAPTION – CLAUDIA NARRATING (2): That’s how things work, especially since the advent of the latest…administration.
Comment (2): “Administration” here is a way of suggesting “presidential administration,” which is that the government of the United States is culturally retrograde, probably biased against the interests of professional women and in favor of those of the very rich.
Translation (2): Ecco come funzionano le cose, soprattutto dopo l’arrivo dell’ultima… amministrazione.
Panel 2: Claudia back in the galley, brushing a strand of hair our of her eyes.
Claudia (3): And while I might not have Daphne Bosselseg’s heroic attitude about such matters, just like her, I am sure I’d rather be dead than spend a lifetime eking out a living in the twenty first-century service economy.
Translation (3): E mentre potrei non avere l’atteggiamento eroico di Daphne Bosselseg su tali argomenti, proprio come lei, sono sicuro che preferirei morire piuttosto che passare una vita a guadagnarmi da vivere nell’economia dei servizi del ventunesimo secolo.
Panel 3: Claudia taking a sip of coffee.
Unseen interviewer (out-of-panel balloon) (4): You’re not seriously thinking of giving in to them, are you?
Translation (4): Non stai seriamente pensando di cedere, vero?
Claudia (5): Well, why not?
Translation (5): Beh perchè no?
Panel 4: Claudia making a forced smile.
Claudia (6): Feed lots of hungry children, buy lots of mosquito nets, get my name on an eldritch horror…
Translation (6): Dai da mangiare a un sacco di bambini affamati, compri molte zanzariere, e il tuo nome finisce in un orrore spettrale…
