Ray Bradbury 12 min read

An old woman pays a con man to fly her to God, and when the rocket fails, decides to make the miracle happen herself.

Ray Bradbury's 1951 story follows the indomitable Mrs. Bellowes, a lifelong seeker of gurus and mystics, who joins Mr. Thirkell's dubious expedition to meet her Maker among the stars. Bradbury spins faith, fraud, and the fierce dignity of the elderly into something wry and unexpectedly moving. Read it for Bradbury's inimitable warmth and mischief, and one of his most quietly triumphant heroines.

In its time

Published in 1951, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

12 min read (a short story, a single idea, delivered and gone).

Illustrated by

Thorne