The White Widows

by Sam Merwin Jr.

A young and unsuspecting chemist, Larry Finlay, has been working for a long time on a new approach to the problem of hemophilia. Suddenly sinister forces show a particular interest in Larry's work. Soon, Finlay is caught up in a nightmare of violence and counter-violence. A group of women known as the "White Widows" are at the core of a generations-long plot to eliminate the male sex and make the world safe for the real people - women!

It turns out that the powers-that-be have known of this plot almost from its inception. But they are forced to fight behind the scenes - for who would believe such a plot even were it exposed on every front page in the nation? Larry Finlay joins the counter-conspirators - he really has no choice.

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Samuel Kimball Merwin, Jr. was an American mystery fiction writer, editor and science fiction author, who published fiction mostly as Sam Merwin, Jr. His pseudonyms included Elizabeth Deare Bennett, Matt Lee, Jacques Jean Ferrat and Carter Sprague.

Reviews

[Susan Waskey]

It's pulp fiction. It is silly and sexist as one would expect, with occasional casual racism, but not nearly as much as I expected. Likewise, the plot shows more literary ambitions than I expected, though it is somewhat buried in the main character's endless commentary on rather mundane details and speculations. (He is allegedly the hero, but frankly seems rather dull-witted.)