Jirel Of Joiry

Jirel of Joiry was a character that featured in a series of short stories in Weird Tales. Ruling her own fictional kingdom somewhere in medieval France, her stories usually revolve around her quests to take revenge on the supernatural forces who would either slight her or threaten her kingdom.Why it's on the list The concept of a strong, female character is nothing new for us enlightened children of the new millennium. Think Lara Croft, Hermione, Xena (Yes, I can't believe I referenced Xena here either!). But in the 30's a heroic woman who doesn't need a man to protect her was groundbreaking. The fact that this woman was always off on adventures in alternate planes of existence and in other realms, made her character just that much more interesting.Jirel was the archetypal undefeatable swordswomen, with her armor, sword and anger-filled clashes with all things paranormal. She was tough, arrogant, attractive, skilled with the sword, but at the same time C.L. Moore created a character that was able to reflect on her actions and learn from failures and mistakes.Any book from the 20's or 30's that features a character who is bad-ass enough to gain the respect of her male fans, yet sentimental and introspective enough to appeal to the ‘fairer sex', deserves to be acknowledged for its contributions to fantasy and speculative fiction.Read if you likeGirl power, sword and sorcery, female characters, female authors.