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39-492: The Trap Door Spiders were established by author Fletcher Pratt in 1944 to exclude operatic soprano Mildred Baldwin, in response to the June 7, 1943 marriage between Baldwin and Pratt's friend Dr. John D. Clark . Baldwin was unpopular with her husband's friends, despite their participation in the ceremony (Pratt's own wife Inga Stephens Pratt was matron of honor, and L. Sprague de Camp served as Clark's best man). Pratt reasoned that

78-507: A collaborator or were translations from French and German sources. When a fire gutted his apartment in the early 1930s, according to de Camp's memoir, he used the insurance money to study at the Sorbonne for a year. After his return from France he was a staff writer for American Detective , a true crime magazine, and began writing histories. His short history of the Civil War, Ordeal by Fire ,

117-416: A member), though Randi did consider himself an "honorary" member. Owing to the writings of Isaac Asimov (see below), those most closely associated with the group are Bensen, Cant, Carter, Clark, de Camp, del Rey, and Asimov himself. The Trap Door Spiders are fictionalized in L. Sprague de Camp's historical novel The Bronze God of Rhodes (1960) as "The Seven Strangers," a social club holding symposia in

156-516: A scale of one inch to 50 feet. These were spread over the floor of Pratt's apartment and their strengths were calculated via a complex mathematical formula. Noted author and artist Jack Coggins was a frequent participant in Pratt's Navy Game, and de Camp met him through his wargaming group. Pratt established the literary dining club known as the Trap Door Spiders in 1944. The name is a reference to

195-409: A scale of one inch to 50 feet. These were spread over the floor of Pratt's apartment and their strengths were calculated via a complex mathematical formula. Noted author and artist Jack Coggins was a frequent participant in Pratt's Navy Game, and de Camp met him through his wargaming group. Pratt established the literary dining club known as the Trap Door Spiders in 1944. The name is a reference to

234-564: A stint at the Buffalo Courier-Express he settled in New York City in 1920 and worked for a Staten Island newspaper before turning to freelance writing in 1923. In 1926, he married Inga Stephens , an artist. According to de Camp she was his second wife. In the late 1920s he began selling stories to pulp magazines , primarily the science fiction magazines published by Hugo Gernsback . Many of these stories were either written with

273-571: A trucking delivery service between Springville and Buffalo. Following high school he attended Hobart College in Geneva, New York, for one year. In February 1916 the Associated Press reported that he had been arrested for burglary in Geneva after a series of midnight cash drawer robberies that allegedly netted him less than $ 25. He was reported to have told police that his father did not supply him with enough funds to survive at Hobart. On February 23

312-462: A true crime magazine, and began writing histories. His short history of the Civil War, Ordeal by Fire , was published to critical acclaim in 1935 and became a bestseller. Starting in the summer of 1937 Pratt became a regular at the annual Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont for the next 18 years, eventually becoming their Dean of Nonfiction. During World War II Pratt was a military analyst for

351-449: A year, and maintained a membership of thirteen, among whom the privilege of hosting the meetings rotated. The host of a given meeting selected the restaurant, wine, and menu for the evening, and had the option of inviting one or two guests he believed might prove interesting to the other members. The group remained active through at least January 16, 1990, when its members attended a party given by Doubleday for Isaac Asimov at Tavern on

390-788: Is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War and for fiction written with L. Sprague de Camp . According to de Camp, Pratt was born near Tonawanda, New York . The son of Robert M. and Alice Horton Pratt, he attended public schools in Buffalo and graduated from high school in 1915 at the Griffith Institute in Springville, New York , where his father operated a trucking delivery service between Springville and Buffalo. Following high school he attended Hobart College in Geneva, New York, for one year. In February 1916

429-582: The New York Post and for Time magazine (whose obituary described him as "bearded, gnome-like" and listed "raising marmosets " among his hobbies), and later was a regular reviewer of historical nonfiction and fantasy and science fiction for the New York Times Book Review . Following World War II the Pratts came into possession of a rambling 31-room Victorian mansion on a high bluff overlooking

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468-748: The Buffalo Enquirer reported: "Pratt's father came on from Springville yesterday and it was practically decided to send the youth to the State Hospital for the Insane at Willard , pending an investigation of his case by the grand jury. It is thought that he may be mentally unsound." In May 1918 the Washington Star reported that the staff at the camp library at the Army's Camp Meade in Maryland had been strengthened by

507-602: The 1930s, purchased part of the property and moved in next door. The Pratts simultaneously maintained a large apartment in Midtown Manhattan near Central Park, where they hosted meetings of the Hydra Club . Pratt was the inventor of a set of rules for naval wargaming , which he created before the Second World War . This was known as the "Fletcher Pratt Naval War Game" and it involved dozens of tiny wooden ships, built on

546-432: The 1930s, purchased part of the property and moved in next door. The Pratts simultaneously maintained a large apartment in Midtown Manhattan near Central Park, where they hosted meetings of the Hydra Club . Pratt was the inventor of a set of rules for naval wargaming , which he created before the Second World War . This was known as the "Fletcher Pratt Naval War Game" and it involved dozens of tiny wooden ships, built on

585-626: The ABA ) in "The Woman in the Bar." The remaining member of the Widowers, the group's waiter and unfailing sleuth Henry Jackson, was completely fictional, though Asimov did liken the character to that of P.G. Wodehouse 's Jeeves from the Bertie Wooster novels. Fletcher Pratt Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was an American writer of history, science fiction , and fantasy . He

624-418: The Associated Press reported that he had been arrested for burglary in Geneva after a series of midnight cash drawer robberies that allegedly netted him less than $ 25. He was reported to have told police that his father did not supply him with enough funds to survive at Hobart. On February 23 the Buffalo Enquirer reported: "Pratt's father came on from Springville yesterday and it was practically decided to send

663-802: The Atlantic Ocean at Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, purchased by Inga Stephens Pratt's wealthy mother for use as a summer place. Whimsically dubbed The Ipsy-Wipsy Institute, the house became a watering hole for Fletcher's literary friends at an unending succession of marathon weekend house parties. A number of writers moved into the mansion's many bedrooms and spent entire summers there. Frequent guests and residents at Ipsy-Wipsy included William Lindsay Gresham , John Ciardi , William Sloane , Basil Davenport , Lester del Rey , Ted Sturgeon , Esther Carlson, Fred Pohl , John D. Clark , Willy Ley , Judith Merrill , Eugenie Clark , L. Sprague de Camp , and many others. Laurence Manning , Pratt's old writing partner from

702-481: The Green in New York City. The event commemorated Asimov's seventieth birthday and the fortieth anniversary of the publication of his first book. According to L. Sprague de Camp, the club was "still thriving" as of 1996. Membership of the club was by invitation, and varied as some Trap Door Spiders died or moved away (or in at least one instance was dropped by the consensus of the other members) and as others were admitted on

741-660: The Round Table's board of directors established the Fletcher Pratt Award in his honor, which is presented every May to the author or editor of the best non-fiction book on the Civil War published during the preceding calendar year. Aside from his historical writings, Pratt is best known for his fantasy collaborations with de Camp, the most famous of which is the humorous Harold Shea series, eventually published in full as The Complete Compleat Enchanter (1989, ISBN   0-671-69809-5 ). His solo fantasy novels The Well of

780-543: The Round Table's board of directors established the Fletcher Pratt Award in his honor, which is presented every May to the author or editor of the best non-fiction book on the Civil War published during the preceding calendar year. Aside from his historical writings, Pratt is best known for his fantasy collaborations with de Camp, the most famous of which is the humorous Harold Shea series, eventually published in full as The Complete Compleat Enchanter (1989, ISBN   0-671-69809-5 ). His solo fantasy novels The Well of

819-654: The Spiders and others, also occasionally appeared in the series in fictional guise. These included Fletcher Pratt (albeit deceased and offstage) as Widowers founder Ralph Ottur in the story "To the Barest," and (as guests) Asimov himself (in a humorously unflattering portrayal) as arrogant author Mortimer Stellar in "When No Man Pursueth", James Randi as stage magician The Amazing Larri in "The Cross of Lorraine", and Harlan Ellison as writer Darius Just (a character who first appeared as protagonist of Asimov's 1976 mystery novel Murder at

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858-595: The Unicorn and The Blue Star are also highly regarded. Pratt's story "Dr. Grimshaw's Sanitarium" was adapted for radio drama by George Lefferts, and broadcast twice: first on Dimension X ( September 22, 1950 ) and then on X Minus One ( July 14, 1955 ). Pratt wrote in a markedly identifiable prose style, reminiscent of the style of Bernard DeVoto . One of his books is dedicated "To Benny DeVoto, who taught me to write." Several of Pratt's books were illustrated by Inga Stephens Pratt , his wife. David Kahn , author of

897-545: The Unicorn and The Blue Star are also highly regarded. Pratt's story "Dr. Grimshaw's Sanitarium" was adapted for radio drama by George Lefferts, and broadcast twice: first on Dimension X ( September 22, 1950 ) and then on X Minus One ( July 14, 1955 ). Pratt wrote in a markedly identifiable prose style, reminiscent of the style of Bernard DeVoto . One of his books is dedicated "To Benny DeVoto, who taught me to write." Several of Pratt's books were illustrated by Inga Stephens Pratt , his wife. David Kahn , author of

936-443: The addition of "Murray F. Pratt, who recently came here from the Buffalo, N.Y., Public Library". After a stint at the Buffalo Courier-Express he settled in New York City in 1920 and worked for a Staten Island newspaper before turning to freelance writing in 1923. In 1926, he married Inga Stephens , an artist. According to de Camp she was his second wife. In the late 1920s he began selling stories to pulp magazines , primarily

975-517: The ancient Greek city-state of Rhodes . Such Spider elements as the rotating presidency and the question put to guests are faithfully represented in the practices of the Strangers. The club was also the inspiration for Isaac Asimov 's fictional group of puzzle solvers the Black Widowers , protagonists of a long-running series of mystery short stories beginning in 1971. Asimov, a Boston resident who

1014-480: The club would give them an excuse to spend time with Clark without Baldwin. The presidency of the club rotated among the members, the president for a given evening being the member who had volunteered to host the meeting by giving the dinner and supplying a guest. Over the course of its existence the Trap Door Spiders has counted among its members numerous professional men, many of them writers and editors active in

1053-411: The evening enquiring of the guest "How do you justify your existence?" or some variation, such as "Why do you exist?" Jack Coggins remembers that an editor for Reader's Digest went home from a meeting in tears after a brutally personal grilling. Coggins once invited Worthen Paxton, art director of Life Magazine , to a meeting. As of 1976, the club met roughly one Friday a month, eight or nine times

1092-789: The groundbreaking 1967 book The Codebreakers , gave full credit for his start on the subject to Pratt's Secret and Urgent (1939) that Kahn had found in the Great Neck, NY public library as a pre-teen in the 1940s. " 'It hooked me — and I never grew up,' he told The Washington Post in 1978." The rules of Pratt's wargame, official variants, and a number of stories about participants and events in his wargame club have been published in Fletcher Pratt's Naval Wargame: Wargaming with model ships 1900 - 1945 by John Curry, ISBN 978-1-4475-1855-6, published by Naval Wargaming Books. Fletcher Pratt Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956)

1131-569: The house became a watering hole for Fletcher's literary friends at an unending succession of marathon weekend house parties. A number of writers moved into the mansion's many bedrooms and spent entire summers there. Frequent guests and residents at Ipsy-Wipsy included William Lindsay Gresham , John Ciardi , William Sloane , Basil Davenport , Lester del Rey , Ted Sturgeon , Esther Carlson, Fred Pohl , John D. Clark , Willy Ley , Judith Merrill , Eugenie Clark , L. Sprague de Camp , and many others. Laurence Manning , Pratt's old writing partner from

1170-402: The nomination of existing members. Men known to have been members of the club include: According to magician and skeptic James Randi , other prominent figures attending Trap Door Spiders meetings included authors Frederik Pohl (1919-2013) and L. Ron Hubbard , as well as Randi himself. All three appear to have attended as guests rather than members (Pohl in particular has written he was never

1209-537: The reclusive habits of the trapdoor spider, which when it enters its burrow pulls the hatch shut behind it. The club was later fictionalized as the Black Widowers in a series of mystery stories by Isaac Asimov . Pratt himself was fictionalized in one story, "To the Barest", as the Widowers’ founder, Ralph Ottur. He was also a charter member of The Civil War Round Table of New York , organized in 1951, and served as its president from 1953 to 1954. In 1956, after his death,

Trap Door Spiders - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-486: The reclusive habits of the trapdoor spider, which when it enters its burrow pulls the hatch shut behind it. The club was later fictionalized as the Black Widowers in a series of mystery stories by Isaac Asimov . Pratt himself was fictionalized in one story, "To the Barest", as the Widowers’ founder, Ralph Ottur. He was also a charter member of The Civil War Round Table of New York , organized in 1951, and served as its president from 1953 to 1954. In 1956, after his death,

1287-407: The science fiction genre, along with some prominent fans such as Dr. Clark. The get-togethers of the Trap Door Spiders followed a set format, which remained consistent through the years: a dinner, given by the host for the evening, to which he would invite a guest who would be grilled by the others and form the focus of conversation for the evening. The grilling was traditionally begun by the host for

1326-406: The science fiction magazines published by Hugo Gernsback . Many of these stories were either written with a collaborator or were translations from French and German sources. When a fire gutted his apartment in the early 1930s, according to de Camp's memoir, he used the insurance money to study at the Sorbonne for a year. After his return from France he was a staff writer for American Detective ,

1365-414: The youth to the State Hospital for the Insane at Willard , pending an investigation of his case by the grand jury. It is thought that he may be mentally unsound." In May 1918 the Washington Star reported that the staff at the camp library at the Army's Camp Meade in Maryland had been strengthened by the addition of "Murray F. Pratt, who recently came here from the Buffalo, N.Y., Public Library". After

1404-421: Was a regular reviewer of historical nonfiction and fantasy and science fiction for the New York Times Book Review . Following World War II the Pratts came into possession of a rambling 31-room Victorian mansion on a high bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, purchased by Inga Stephens Pratt's wealthy mother for use as a summer place. Whimsically dubbed The Ipsy-Wipsy Institute,

1443-473: Was an American writer of history, science fiction , and fantasy . He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War and for fiction written with L. Sprague de Camp . According to de Camp, Pratt was born near Tonawanda, New York . The son of Robert M. and Alice Horton Pratt, he attended public schools in Buffalo and graduated from high school in 1915 at the Griffith Institute in Springville, New York , where his father operated

1482-554: Was often an invited guest of the Trap Door Spiders when in New York, became a permanent member of the club when he moved to the area in 1970. Asimov loosely modeled his fictional "Black Widowers" on six of the real-life Trap Door Spiders. He gave his characters professions somewhat more varied than those of their models, while retaining aspects of their personalities and appearances. Asimov's characters and their real-life counterparts are: Other non-fictional men, including members of

1521-472: Was published to critical acclaim in 1935 and became a bestseller. Starting in the summer of 1937 Pratt became a regular at the annual Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont for the next 18 years, eventually becoming their Dean of Nonfiction. During World War II Pratt was a military analyst for the New York Post and for Time magazine (whose obituary described him as "bearded, gnome-like" and listed "raising marmosets " among his hobbies), and later

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