My recent discussion here of the relevance of F&SF’s corporate name of Spilogale, and the subsequent discussion in my Rumor Mill message board, got me thinking about skunks and fiction. You don’t see too much of that. Am I the only one outraged? When’s someone going to do for Mephitidae fiction what has been done for the literature of Muroidea and Leporidae?

I seem to be a fan of such fiction in general; my favorite piece of short fiction is “Flowers for Algernon,” which, while not strickly a Muroidea story, it wouldn’t be the same without its titular rodent character. In addition to that, I grew up reading those Beverly Cleary Ralph the Mouse books (The Mouse and the Motorcycle, et al.). The Secret of NIHM was always one of my favorite animated films. You get the idea. If I’d been exposed to those Brian Jacques books as a kid, I’m sure I would have devoured those too.

On the lagomorph side of the coin, of course, is Watership Down, which is not only a fantastic book, but also a wonderful animated film (so is Plague Dogs, but Canidae are well-represented in fiction, and so are not relevant to this discussion, except in a Richard Adams-tangential sense). I’m not as well-versed in Leporidae lore–in fact, I can’t think of another rabbit story off the top of my head–but it seems equally as appealing.

So, though skunks are actually of the order carnivora, putting them in the same league as the likes of lions and tigers and bears…(don’t say it), it seems like they’d be a natural to follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned creatures.

Plus, with a sinister name like Mephitidae, how can all you fantasy writers resist?

Or am I wrong? Is there some vast treasure trove of skunk fiction out there I’m not aware of?