Jirel of Joiry

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Cover art of a recent omnibus edition, by Arnold Tsang

Jirel of Joiry is the heroine of a series of Sword and Sorcery short stories by C. L. Moore, running from 1934 to 1939 in Weird Tales. The character is notable for being the first female fantasy hero.

All of the stories originally ran in Weird Tales, and the copyright appears to not have been renewed. Thus, they are available to read at the Internet Archive:

1. "The Black God's Kiss" (October 1934, pp 402-421)
2. "Black God's Shadow" (December 1934, pp 701-718)
3. "Jirel Meets Magic" (July 1935, pp 30-53)
4. "The Dark Land" (January 1936, pp 53-71)
5. "Quest of the Starstone" (November 1937, pp 556-575) -- A Crossover story with Moore's other famous character Northwest Smith, co-written with her husband Henry Kuttner
6. "Hellsgarde" (April 1939. pp 37-60)

Tropes used in Jirel of Joiry include:

• Action Girl: Jirel.
• Chainmail Bikini: Averted, no matter what the cover art of the Planet Stories edition would have you believe.
• Crossover: With Moore's SF character Northwest Smith. This is not as mad as it sounds - both characters often end up in strange realms facing powerful, mysterious creatures and the word "magic" even pops up a few times in the Northwest Smith stories.
• Eldritch Abomination: The Black God. Pav might also qualify.
• Feminist Fantasy
• Fiery Redhead: Jirel.
• Religion Is Magic: Wearing a crucifix will protect one against the Black God's realm.
• Narrative Profanity Filter
• No Ontological Inertia: Jarisme's tower returns to its original location after her death.
• Samus Is a Girl: Jirel's introduction.