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Maureen Johnson (Heinlein character)
Encyclopedia
Maureen Johnson Smith Long (1882-1982?), most often referred to as Maureen Johnson, is a fictional character in several science fiction
novels written by Robert A. Heinlein
. She is the mother, lover and eventual wife of Lazarus Long
, the longest-living member of Heinlein's fictional Howard Families
. She is the only character from the "Lazarus Long cycle" to have an entire fictional memoir devoted to her life.
. She appears briefly in The Number of the Beast
(1980), The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
(1985) and recounts her own life story, and sometimes contradictory versions of events recorded in other Heinlein stories, in 1987's To Sail Beyond the Sunset
.
on July 4, 1882, the daughter of Doctor Ira Johnson, a member of the Howard Families. As a young teenager, Maureen discovers this fact from her very frank father who encourages her to seek a husband from among the accepted list of family candidates. She marries Brian Smith and they settle in Kansas City
and have several children, all subsidized by the Howard Families foundation.
Time Enough for Love recounts how, during 1916, Maureen and her father are visited by a mysterious man who calls himself Theodore Bronson. Bronson and Maureen are mentally and physically attracted to one another, and even go on a date and attempt to have sex, but are thwarted by young "Woody," who sneaks along, hidden in the back of the car. Ted Bronson eventually goes off to fight in the war, and is presumed killed. "Bronson" was eventually revealed to Maureen to be her time-traveling son, Woodrow, aka "Lazarus Long."
's Harriman Enterprises, the first company to put a man on the moon in Heinlein's central universe (The Man Who Sold the Moon
). She also witnesses the introduction of the "rolling roads" (The Roads Must Roll
).
On June 20, 1982, Maureen, just short of her one hundredth birthday, is crossing a street when a truck barrels down on her. She has no time for regrets as she is scooped up in a rescue mission from the future by her son Lazarus, with assistance from Hilda Corners Burroughs, Jacob Burroughs, Zebediah Carter, Dejah Thoris "Deety" Burroughs Carter and their sentient car, Gay Deceiver
. The rescue is outlined in the book The Number of the Beast.
becomes an agent of the Time Corps (often accompanied by Pixel, the titular "Cat Who Walks Through Walls"). She is kidnapped by the "Committee For Aesthetic Deletions" while on a research trip and held in Kansas City on a previously unknown time-line. Pixel manages to lead Lazarus to Maureen and rescue her from the Committee. Then Maureen, Lazarus and the rest of the Long family rescue Ira Johnson from certain death during the Coventry Blitz
.
"So we all joined hands in the presence of our children (of course Pixel was there!) and we pledged ourselves to love and cherish our children--those around us, those still to come, worlds without end.
"And we all lived happily ever after."
The Number of the Beast, Heinlein, Robert A., 1980, Fawcett
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Heinlein, Robert A., 1985, G. P. Putnam's Sons
To Sail Beyond the Sunset, Heinlein, Robert A., 1987, G. P. Putnam's Sons
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...
novels written by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
. She is the mother, lover and eventual wife of Lazarus Long
Lazarus Long
Lazarus Long is a fictional character featured in a number of science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein. Born in 1912 in the third generation of a selective breeding experiment run by the Ira Howard Foundation, Lazarus becomes unusually long-lived, living well over two thousand years with the...
, the longest-living member of Heinlein's fictional Howard Families
Howard Families
The Howard Families are a fictional group created by the author Robert A. Heinlein.According to Heinlein, the Howard Foundation was started in the 19th century by Ira Howard, a millionaire dying of old age in his forties, for the purpose of extending human lifespans...
. She is the only character from the "Lazarus Long cycle" to have an entire fictional memoir devoted to her life.
Background
Maureen first appears as a secondary character in the 1973 novel Time Enough for LoveTime Enough for Love
Time Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1973. The work was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1973 and both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1974.-Plot:...
. She appears briefly in The Number of the Beast
The Number of the Beast (novel)
The Number of the Beast is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1980. The first edition featured a cover and interior illustrations by Richard M. Powers...
(1980), The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1985. Like many of his later novels, it features Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw as supporting characters.-Plot summary:...
(1985) and recounts her own life story, and sometimes contradictory versions of events recorded in other Heinlein stories, in 1987's To Sail Beyond the Sunset
To Sail Beyond the Sunset
To Sail Beyond the Sunset is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1987. It was the last novel published before he died in 1988....
.
Early life and marriage
Maureen was born in MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
on July 4, 1882, the daughter of Doctor Ira Johnson, a member of the Howard Families. As a young teenager, Maureen discovers this fact from her very frank father who encourages her to seek a husband from among the accepted list of family candidates. She marries Brian Smith and they settle in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
and have several children, all subsidized by the Howard Families foundation.
Children
The most famous of her children is Woodrow Wilson Smith, born November 11, 1912. Woodrow will eventually be known by many names in his long life, the most famous being "Lazarus Long."Time Enough for Love recounts how, during 1916, Maureen and her father are visited by a mysterious man who calls himself Theodore Bronson. Bronson and Maureen are mentally and physically attracted to one another, and even go on a date and attempt to have sex, but are thwarted by young "Woody," who sneaks along, hidden in the back of the car. Ted Bronson eventually goes off to fight in the war, and is presumed killed. "Bronson" was eventually revealed to Maureen to be her time-traveling son, Woodrow, aka "Lazarus Long."
Post-Divorce Business Career and "Death"
When Brian Smith divorces Maureen to marry their daughter-in-law, Maureen strikes out on her own, becomes a board member of D. D. HarrimanD. D. Harriman
Delos David Harriman, known as "D.D. Harriman," is a character in the fiction of noted science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein. He is an entrepreneurial businessman who masterminded the first landing on the Moon as a private business venture...
's Harriman Enterprises, the first company to put a man on the moon in Heinlein's central universe (The Man Who Sold the Moon
The Man Who Sold the Moon
The Man Who Sold the Moon is a science fiction novella by Robert A. Heinlein written in 1949 and published in 1950. A part of his Future History and prequel to "Requiem", it covers events around a fictional first Moon landing, in 1978, and the schemes of Delos D...
). She also witnesses the introduction of the "rolling roads" (The Roads Must Roll
The Roads Must Roll
"The Roads Must Roll" is a 1940 science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein. In the late 1960s, it was awarded a retrospective Nebula Award by the Science Fiction Writers of America and published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964 in 1970.The story is set in the near...
).
On June 20, 1982, Maureen, just short of her one hundredth birthday, is crossing a street when a truck barrels down on her. She has no time for regrets as she is scooped up in a rescue mission from the future by her son Lazarus, with assistance from Hilda Corners Burroughs, Jacob Burroughs, Zebediah Carter, Dejah Thoris "Deety" Burroughs Carter and their sentient car, Gay Deceiver
The Number of the Beast (novel)
The Number of the Beast is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1980. The first edition featured a cover and interior illustrations by Richard M. Powers...
. The rescue is outlined in the book The Number of the Beast.
Rejuvenation and Time Corps Career
She is rejuvenated, and first works as a nursing assistant, then a nurse, and eventually a physician/rejuvenator herself. But she regrets not knowing the eventual fate of her beloved father, Dr. Ira Johnson, and on the advice of co-husband Jubal HarshawJubal Harshaw
Jubal Harshaw is a fictional character featured in Stranger in a Strange Land, a novel by Robert A. Heinlein. He is described as: "Jubal E. Harshaw, LL.B., M.D., Sc.D., bon vivant, gourmet, sybarite, popular author extraordinary, neo-pessimist philosopher, devout agnostic, professional clown,...
becomes an agent of the Time Corps (often accompanied by Pixel, the titular "Cat Who Walks Through Walls"). She is kidnapped by the "Committee For Aesthetic Deletions" while on a research trip and held in Kansas City on a previously unknown time-line. Pixel manages to lead Lazarus to Maureen and rescue her from the Committee. Then Maureen, Lazarus and the rest of the Long family rescue Ira Johnson from certain death during the Coventry Blitz
Coventry Blitz
The Coventry blitz was a series of bombing raids that took place in the English city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Second World War by the German Air Force...
.
Worlds without end
Maureen is united with her descendants in a massive group marriage in the settlement of Boondock on the planet Tellus Tertius. Her last words in To Sail Beyond the Sunset are:"So we all joined hands in the presence of our children (of course Pixel was there!) and we pledged ourselves to love and cherish our children--those around us, those still to come, worlds without end.
"And we all lived happily ever after."
Sources
Time Enough for Love, Heinlein, Robert A., 1973, G. P. Putnam's SonsThe Number of the Beast, Heinlein, Robert A., 1980, Fawcett
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Heinlein, Robert A., 1985, G. P. Putnam's Sons
To Sail Beyond the Sunset, Heinlein, Robert A., 1987, G. P. Putnam's Sons