‘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. “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, 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
