Marion Zimmer Bradley Sexually Molested Me, Daughter Accuses

[Karloff]

Marion Zimmer Bradley Sexually Molested Me, Daughter Accuses

'The first time she molested me, I was 3. The last time, I was 12, and able to walk away.'

Marion Zimmer Bradley, author of The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series among many other works, as well as editor/publisher of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, has been accused of sexual abuse by her daughter, Moira Greyland. The accusations first aired in a blog post earlier this month, in which Greyland stated that the assaults began when she was 3 and only stopped when she was old enough to walk away.

"None of this should be news. Walter was a serial rapist with many, many, many victims (I named 22 to the cops) but Marion was far, far worse," said Greyland [http://deirdre.net/marion-zimmer-bradley-its-worse-than-i-knew/]. "She was cruel and violent, as well as completely out of her mind sexually."

Greyland goes on to say that, to her knowledge, she was not the only victim, nor were all the victims girls. In a follow-up to the Guardian newspaper, Greyland says that one of the reasons for keeping silent for so long was that she was afraid Bradley's fans would be angry with her. Greyland didn't want to hurt anyone her mother had helped; there are many science fiction and fantasy authors who owe their careers to Bradley, never mind countless fans who admire her and her work.

"One reason I never said anything is that I regarded her life as being more important than mine: her fame more important, and assuredly the comfort of her fans as more important," says Greyland.

Authors who worked with or for Bradley are horrified at these revelations. One, Janni Lee Simner [http://simner.com/blog/?p=5775], has promised to donate royalties earned from her Darkover works to anti-abuse charity RAINN.

Greyland is the daughter of Bradley and Walter H. Breen, science fiction author and member of NAMBLA, who died in prison in 1993. He was serving 10 years on felony charges for molesting a 13-year-old boy. Bradley died in 1999, following a heart attack.

"I am so glad I spoke out, because on the blog, so many people have shared their OWN stories of abuse and incest and heartbreak," Greyland told the Guardian. "I am going to keep talking about it, if only so that those people who need to share their own stories will do so now."

Source: Guardian [http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/27/sff-community-marion-zimmer-bradley-daughter-accuses-abuse]


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[Uriel_Hayabusa]

Just horrific. Words fail me.

 

[Fappy]

"One reason I never said anything is that I regarded her life as being more important than mine..."

This sentiment is really disheartening. I hope by speaking out she is implying this is no longer something she believes.

 

[Darks63]

Raised by two pedos thats just horrible.

Also I have never heard of either of their work and I will likely not now.

 

[lacktheknack]

Greyland.

Gralyand

Grayland

EDITING!

OT: That's horrifying. D:

It's been 15 years since Bradley died... imagine holding quiet on this for over fifteen years.

 

[AndreiCC]

I'm definetly against child abuse of any kind and I'm sorry for Moira Grayland's suffering.
On the other hand, during wiki-surfing the people involved, I've found out that NAMBLA is a real thing, not just something made up for an episode of South Park. Americans, why you so crazy?

 

[V4Viewtiful]

I've found out that NAMBLA is a real thing

Where on Earth have you been?

But yeah this is awful stuff, I don't know if this was the best way to reveal it but it's on her terms so good for her. A lot of the time a woman lets the man abuse the girl or don't know she's abused but not often do you here both parties took part. Geez. :/

 

[velcthulhu]

Having read some of the Darkover novels, this... actually doesn't surprise me. Sadly enough.

 

[Redryhno]

Ok...so that happened. Sad if true? Absolutely.(Note:I'm not claiming it isn't) But...considering how many other great works have had even sicker creators, this is honestly just a drop in the pond, not really all that significant of a drop either, the only thing about it is how recent it is/was.

The books she wrote are still worth reading, and anyone that can't separate the author's personality from their penmanship should probably look harder into at least a handful of the authors they've read the works of.

 

[Jumwa]

Yeesh. That is scary. My heart goes out to her and any other victims.

Also find myself glad now (rather than sad as I was before) that I could never get into the Mists of Avalon novels. If I'd enjoyed them, I'd have to associate them with rather disturbing feelings now.

 

[A-D.]

Yeesh. That is scary. My heart goes out to her and any other victims.

Also find myself glad now (rather than sad as I was before) that I could never get into the Mists of Avalon novels. If I'd enjoyed them, I'd have to associate them with rather disturbing feelings now.

You could still enjoy the books, even if the Author is a despicable human being. After all, im sure some part of the Author flows into the work, into characters, but its hardly a representation of who the Author is. Otherwise GRRM is a serial killer waiting to happen, mind you he'd be slow and you'd see him coming but he'd keep trying.

OT: This is..bad. I dont really know how else to describe this, im more suprised she didnt speak out sooner, nevermind the fact that she had such low self-esteem that she felt she was worth less than her mother or her mother's fame. I mean..god damn..

 

[Thaluikhain]

You could still enjoy the books, even if the Author is a despicable human being. After all, im sure some part of the Author flows into the work, into characters, but its hardly a representation of who the Author is. Otherwise GRRM is a serial killer waiting to happen, mind you he'd be slow and you'd see him coming but he'd keep trying.

True...though I find it's better when the author is safely dead.

If Lovecraft was still alive and calling for gassing of certain neighbourhoods, I'd not buy his books, for example.

Also awkward when it comes to celebrating them and their work.

OT: This is..bad. I dont really know how else to describe this, im more suprised she didnt speak out sooner, nevermind the fact that she had such low self-esteem that she felt she was worth less than her mother or her mother's fame. I mean..god damn..

Well, not that surprising. Long term physical/sexual abuse requires manipulation and psychological/emotional abuse. Especially with kids, if the people responsible for bringing them up bring them up to feel worthless, that's no small thing.

Society also really doesn't help, there's plenty of harmful ideas about abuse around. I'm actually surprised that nobody has yet claimed that she's making it up for some random reason or other, that's the usual response. That or she's somehow to blame, that she's not acted like a "proper" rape victim should or something.

 

[Mangue Surfer]

She was sick and deserved worst. But withou her, things like Game of Thrones will never exist. Jack Bauer call this "an impossible situation". Imagine if Hitler had written Lord of the Rings.

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

I'm definetly against child abuse of any kind and I'm sorry for Moira Grayland's suffering.
On the other hand, during wiki-surfing the people involved, I've found out that NAMBLA is a real thing, not just something made up for an episode of South Park. Americans, why you so crazy?

There was a political party in Holland or Denmark, I can't remember which, that supported getting rid of the age of consent entirely. The laws were changed and they were forced to dissolve.

I thought this was a stupid thing to do for two reasons.

1.) I never thought for a second they would ever elect anyone.
2.) If someone was charged with child molestation and they were a member of this party, it would make getting a conviction really easy.

 

[Megalodon]

Society also really doesn't help, there's plenty of harmful ideas about abuse around. I'm actually surprised that nobody has yet claimed that she's making it up for some random reason or other, that's the usual response. That or she's somehow to blame, that she's not acted like a "proper" rape victim should or something.

Well not I'm saying she's to blame, but will I do?

Sorry if this sounds heartless, but accusations aren't proof.

If the accusations are true, then indeed that author deserves that special hell of Firefly fame. But if, as the OP suggests, this is just an unproven claim being put forward by the daughter then skepticism and salt are required. There's a reason why the Justice system requires evidence before conviction. Of course, if proof exists, and I've missed it, then fair enough, bring out the effigies.

I find it somewhat disheartening how often when claims like this are made too many people, especially the media forget that whole 'innocent until proven guilty' thing.

For the record, I've never even heard of this author before clicking on this thread, I'm not trying to defend her. I'm not saying that the daughter is definitely making it up, only that, in lieu of corroborating proof, it is a possibility. Accusations aren't evidence. Convicting someone of such a serious crime, in either a court of law or the court of public opinion (the latter being the only one the dead are vulnerable to), should come down to more than 'well the supposed victim told us it happened'.

Again, if true, that's a special kind of fucked up evil.

Hope I don't regret making this post...

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

She was sick and deserved worst. But withou her things like Game of Thrones will never exist. Jack Bauer call this "an impossible situation". Imagine if Hitler had written Lord of the Rings.

During World War II, the Nazis did human experiments that actually did help advance medical science. What do you do in this situation? Use the data, but don't give anyone credit for it.

Similarly, continue to use her work as inspiration, but don't acknowledge her or her work by name.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Well not I'm saying she's to blame, but will I do?

Sorry if this sounds heartless, but accusations aren't proof.

If the accusations are true, then indeed that author deserves that special hell of Firefly fame. But if, as the OP suggests, this is just an unproven claim being put forward by the daughter then skepticism and salt are required. There's a reason why the Justice system requires evidence before conviction. Of course, if proof exists, and I've missed it, then fair enough, bring out the effigies.

I find it somewhat disheartening how often when claims like this are made too many people, especially the media forget that whole 'innocent until proven guilty' thing.

For the record, I've never even heard of this author before clicking on this thread, I'm not trying to defend her. I'm not saying that the daughter is definitely making it up, only that, in lieu of corroborating proof, it is a possibility. Accusations aren't evidence. Convicting someone of such a serious crime, in either a court of law or the court of public opinion (the latter being the only one the dead are vulnerable to), should come down to more than 'well the supposed victim told us it happened'.

Again, if true, that's a special kind of fucked up evil.

Hope I don't regret making this post...

Firstly, "innocent until proven guilty" for the accused means "liar until proven otherwise" for the accuser[footnote]Or, for adults, where the defense is that the victim consented, all victims consented until proven otherwise in a court of law[/footnote]. There is a staggeringly high number of rapes, and a tiny number of convictions, in large part because people are quick to put the victim on trial. The number of false rape allegations is tiny, but is constantly blown out of proportion, moreso than most crimes. Large parts of society firmly believe (for some reason), that any and all men are at immediate risk of a false rape accusation ruining their lives. This isn't true. It most definitely does come down to a lot more than 'well the supposed victim told us it happened'. You also don't get anywhere this paranoia with most other crimes.

Secondly, "innocent until proven guilty" is an important part of the justice system. If the justice system lets that sort of thing drop, they punish innocent people. I am not the justice system, nor is anyone here. If we are less rigorous in that, we might end up showing sympathy on a forum to someone who won't read it, that we aren't sure is a victim beyond reasonable doubt. For us here, 'well the supposed victim told us it happened' is good enough, IMHO.

 

[Jumwa]

You could still enjoy the books, even if the Author is a despicable human being. After all, im sure some part of the Author flows into the work, into characters, but its hardly a representation of who the Author is. Otherwise GRRM is a serial killer waiting to happen, mind you he'd be slow and you'd see him coming but he'd keep trying.

Of course you can, and I enjoy plenty of things created by deplorable people.

However, we're emotional beings, and can't always decide how we feel. It helps when the creator is dead and can't benefit any further from your support, but this would be sure to leave a sour taste all the same I'd wager.

 

[Something Amyss]

Yikes. That's horrifying.

I am a big science fiction/fantasy fan but I have never read any of the work (was on my list somewhere), I would be much less inclined to do so now. I think it is very sad that she stayed silent for so long it should not matter what an abuser has accomplished in other aspects of their life. But I cannot really understand the frame of mind of someone suffering that as I haven't.

Captcha: poison apple . . . so it would seem.

On the bright side, it's not like you'd be financially contributing to her, seeing as she's been dead for fifteen years.

I mean, nobody's going to force you to buy her books, but it's hard to argue any damage comes from it at this point.

Speaking of, I wonder who does currently benefit.

"One reason I never said anything is that I regarded her life as being more important than mine..."

This sentiment is really disheartening. I hope by speaking out she is implying this is no longer something she believes.

This isn't entirely uncommon in cases of abuse. But yes, hopefully this means she's getting over that feeling.

Where on Earth have you been?

In fairness, even in the US it's played for laughs. Not to mention, NAMBLA sounds too comically stupid to really exist: a pro-pederasty group in this day and age? Combine those two, and you'd think it was an urban legend or a joke comedians had been stealing for years.