Difference between revisions of "The Mummy! (1827)"
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'''Webb, Jane. ''The Mummy!'''''. 1827. | '''Webb, Jane. ''The Mummy!'''''. 1827. | ||
| − | Cited in [[Origins of the Species|John J. Pierce's]] "Imagination and Evolution: A Conceptual History of Science Fiction" (in revision) | + | Cited in [[Origins of the Species|John J. Pierce's]] "Imagination and Evolution: A Conceptual History of Science Fiction" (in revision). |
| + | According to Pierce, | ||
| + | This is one of the earliest examples of making everyday technical details part of the story, instead of shoehorning them in as what are now called information dumps. It was part of the narrative strategy that H.G. Wells, a century later, would call an essential of scientific romance: to “domesticate the impossible hypothesis.” {NOTE: 218: Wells, H.G., preface to ''Seven Famous Novels'', Knopf, 1934, p. viii.} (Pierce 72) | ||
| − | RDE, Initial Compiler, 23May20 | + | Pierce 73 — All this, however, sets off a tedious political and romantic intrigue over the fate of England that dominates the plot and overwhelms such sf elements as an optical telegraph service, illuminated ladies’ hats, railroads that carry summer homes to the country, steam-powered doctors and even robot judges and lawyers – one lawyer’s battery runs down in the middle of a summation. Oh, and air mail, as in Julius von Voss’ ''[[Ini: Ein Roman aus dem ein und zwanzigsten Jahrhundert|Ini]]'' – but surely pure coincidence – is shot by guns [...]. |
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| + | RDE, Initial Compiler, 23May20, 25May20 | ||
[[Category: Fiction]] | [[Category: Fiction]] | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT: Mummy}} | {{DEFAULTSORT: Mummy}} | ||
Revision as of 15:16, 26 May 2020
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Webb, Jane. The Mummy!. 1827.
Cited in John J. Pierce's "Imagination and Evolution: A Conceptual History of Science Fiction" (in revision).
According to Pierce,
This is one of the earliest examples of making everyday technical details part of the story, instead of shoehorning them in as what are now called information dumps. It was part of the narrative strategy that H.G. Wells, a century later, would call an essential of scientific romance: to “domesticate the impossible hypothesis.” {NOTE: 218: Wells, H.G., preface to Seven Famous Novels, Knopf, 1934, p. viii.} (Pierce 72)
Pierce 73 — All this, however, sets off a tedious political and romantic intrigue over the fate of England that dominates the plot and overwhelms such sf elements as an optical telegraph service, illuminated ladies’ hats, railroads that carry summer homes to the country, steam-powered doctors and even robot judges and lawyers – one lawyer’s battery runs down in the middle of a summation. Oh, and air mail, as in Julius von Voss’ Ini – but surely pure coincidence – is shot by guns [...].
RDE, Initial Compiler, 23May20, 25May20
