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The Left Hand of Darkness

1969 novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
VisualArtwork literary_work Q2008211
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The Left Hand of Darkness

Summary

The Left Hand of Darkness is a literary work[1]. It has Wikipedia articles in 23 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[2]

Key Facts

  • The Left Hand of Darkness authored Ursula K. Le Guin[3].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness received the Hugo Award for Best Novel[4].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness received the NPR Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books[5].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness received the Nebula Award for Best Novel[6].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness received the Otherwise Retrospective Award[7].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's instance of is recorded as literary work[8].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's genre is science fiction[9].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's genre is gay literature[10].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's genre is feminist science fiction[11].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness followed City of Illusions[12].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness was followed by The Word for World Is Forest[13].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's part of the series is recorded as Hainish Cycle[14].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's place of publication is recorded as United States[15].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's language of work or name is recorded as American English[16].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's language of work or name is recorded as English[17].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's country of origin is recorded as United States[18].
  • 1969 marks the founding of The Left Hand of Darkness[19].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness was published on March 1969[20].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's characters is recorded as Genly Ai[21].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's characters is recorded as Estraven[22].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's has edition or translation is recorded as The Left Hand of Darkness[23].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's has edition or translation is recorded as The Left Hand of Darkness[24].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's has edition or translation is recorded as Q106508710[25].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's narrative location is recorded as Gethen[26].
  • The Left Hand of Darkness's title is recorded as {'lang': 'en', 'text': 'The Left Hand of Darkness'}[27].

Body

Authorship and Creation

The Left Hand of Darkness authored Ursula K. Le Guin[3].

Publication

The Left Hand of Darkness was released on March 1969[20]. Its place of publication is recorded as United States[15]. Languages include American English[16] and English[17]. Genres include science fiction[9], gay literature[10], and feminist science fiction[11]. Its part of the series is recorded as Hainish Cycle[14].

Subject and Themes

The Left Hand of Darkness's part of the series is recorded as Hainish Cycle[14].

Reception

Awards received include Hugo Award for Best Novel[4], a literary award[28], founded in 1953[29]; NPR Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books[5]; Nebula Award for Best Novel[6], a literary award[30], in United States[31], founded in 1966[32]; and Otherwise Retrospective Award[7].

Adaptations and Inspiration

The Left Hand of Darkness followed City of Illusions[12]. It was followed by The Word for World Is Forest[13].

Why It Matters

The Left Hand of Darkness has Wikipedia articles in 23 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[2] It is known by 4 alternative names across languages and contexts.[33]

FAQs

What awards did The Left Hand of Darkness receive?

Honors received include Hugo Award for Best Novel[4], NPR Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books[5], Nebula Award for Best Novel[6], and Otherwise Retrospective Award[7].

Related Entities

literary work United States Ursula K. Le Guin

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [3] ↑ . Open Library. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [9] ↑ . theguardian.com. theguardian.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  4. [10] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [4] ↑ . thehugoawards.org. Retrieved . thehugoawards.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  9. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [6] ↑ . nebulas.sfwa.org. nebulas.sfwa.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  11. [7] ↑ . otherwiseaward.org. Retrieved . otherwiseaward.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  12. [14] ↑ . ursulakleguin.com. ursulakleguin.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  13. [15] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  14. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [18] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [20] ↑ . Internet Speculative Fiction Database. wikidata.org.
  19. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] ↑ . Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [28] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [29] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [30] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [31] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [32] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  2. [33] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

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Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). The Left Hand of Darkness. Retrieved May 3, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-left-hand-of-darkness
MLA “The Left Hand of Darkness.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 3 May. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-left-hand-of-darkness.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_the-left-hand-of-darkness_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{The Left Hand of Darkness}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-left-hand-of-darkness}, note = {Accessed: 2026-05-03}}
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 16d ago · Huw Diprose · 2026-06-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Part of series → —
    Language of work or name → American English, English
    Genre → science fiction, gay literature, feminist science fiction
    Publication date → —
    + 23 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P747]]: [[Q140237245]], Create audiobook edition of The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin)"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.