Ursula Kroeber Le Guin was born in California in 1929 and started writing as a teenager. Mostly during the 1960s and 1970s she has written many novels, most of them part of science-fiction or fantasy series, making her an influential author in these genres.
Especially by writing the popular Earthsee series, Ursula K. Le Guin has had a large influence on the development of the fantasy genre during the 20th century. A television mini-series, also called Earthsee, was even made in 2004.
Themes
Le Guin is known for including a number of themes in her stories. Her novels often center around social aspects such as anthropology and ecology. Persons and races are suppressed or discriminated, causing the protagonists (who are often colored people) of the stories to rise up against the establishment. Another theme is the disrespect of people for nature with all possible consequences.
Works
Within the fantasy community Ursula Le Guin is of course mainly know for her novels of the Earthsee series. But she has written many more books, most with science-fiction elements.
Below a listing of Le Guin’s most important works:
Earthsea
A Wizard of Earthsea, 1968
The Tombs of Atuan, 1971
The Farthest Shore, 1972
Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea, 1990
Tales from Earthsea, 2001
The Other Wind, 2001
Hainish Cycle
Rocannon’s World, 1966
Planet of Exile, 1966
City of Illusions, 1967
The Left Hand of Darkness, 1969
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia, 1974
The Word for World is Forest, 1976
Four Ways to Forgiveness, 1995
The Telling, 2000
Other
The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, 1975
Orsinian Tales, 1976
The Eye of the Heron, 1978
The Beginning Place, 1980
Always Coming Home, 1985
Lavinia, 2008
Official website of Ursula K. Le Guin
Tags: Earthsee, Fantasy Authors, Ursula Le Guin
January 6th, 2012 at 21:31
Touwchdon! That’s a really cool way of putting it!
August 12th, 2011 at 00:14
I love social commentary! It’s what makes fiction great.
July 14th, 2011 at 03:47
You’re right, changed it!
July 10th, 2011 at 03:44
Ursula is not 111 years old. She was born in 1929