A Gnome There Was is a collection of science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 stories by Henry Kuttner

Henry Kuttner

Henry Kuttner was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.-Early life:Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915...

 and C. L. Moore

C. L. Moore

Catherine Lucille Moore was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, as C. L. Moore. She was one of the first women to write in the genre, and paved the way for many other female writers in speculative fiction....

, published under their Lewis Padgett

Lewis Padgett

Lewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, taken from their mothers' maiden names. They also used the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell and C. H...

 pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 by Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...

 in 1950. No other editions were issued.

Contents

• "A Gnome There Was" (Unknown
  Unknown (magazine)
  Unknown was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1943 by Street & Smith, and edited by John W. Campbell. Unknown was a companion to Street & Smith's science fiction pulp, Astounding Science Fiction, which was also edited by Campbell at the time; many authors and...
  
   1941)
• "What You Need" (Astounding 1945)
• "The Twonky" (Astounding 1942)
• "The Cure" (Astounding 1946)
• "Exit the Professor" (Thrilling Wonder Stories 1947)
• "See You Later" (Thrilling Wonder Stories 1949)
• "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" (Astounding 1943)
• "Jesting Pilot" (Astounding 1947)
• "This Is the House" (Astounding 1946)
• "Rain Check" (Astounding" 1946)
• "Compliments of the Author" (Unknown 1942)

"A Gnome There Was" and "Compliments of the Author" originally appeared under Kuttner's byline. "This Is the House" was originally credited to "Lawrence O'Donnell," another Kuttner/Moore pseudonym. The two stories originally credited to Kuttner are fantasies; the other stories are science fiction.

Reception

Fletcher Pratt

Fletcher Pratt

Murray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...

, writing in The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, praised the collection as "Padgett at his best and most characteristic," saying that "the lightness of the method is in curious contrast to the thoughtfulness of the result." P. Schuyler Miller

P. Schuyler Miller

Peter Schuyler Miller was an American science fiction writer and critic.-Life:Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.He...

reviewed the collection favorably, describing it as "one of the best one-man-shows available" and praising "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" as a "masterpiece."