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Before Armageddon
''Before Armageddon: An Anthology of Victorian and Edwardian Imaginative Fiction Published Before 1914'' is a collection of stories, including invasion literature, and one article, all edited by Michael Moorcock. Originally published in hardback by W.H. Allen in 1975, it was re-issued as a paperback by Star in 1976. The collection is notable largely for its introduction by Michael Moorcock. Contents *"Introduction" - Michael Moorcock *"The Battle of Dorking" - George Tomkyns Chesney (''Blackwood's'', May, 1871) *" Dr. Trifulgas" - Jules Verne ( The Strand, July 1892; ''Le Figaro Illustre'', December 1884) *"The Raid of Le Vengeur" - George Griffith (''Pearson's Magazine'' (US) February 1901) *" The Great War in England in 1897" - William Le Queux (''Answers'', 1893) *"Life in Our New Century" - W. J. Wintle ('' The Harmsworth Magazine'', January 1901) *"The Three Drugs" - E. Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasion Literature
Invasion literature (also the invasion novel) is a literary genre that was popular in the period between 1871 and the First World War (1914–1918). The invasion novel first was recognized as a literary genre in the UK, with the novella '' The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer'' (1871), an account of a German invasion of England, which, in the Western world, aroused the national imaginations and anxieties about hypothetical invasions by foreign powers; by 1914 the genre of invasion literature comprised more than 400 novels and stories.. The genre was influential in Britain in shaping politics, national policies, and popular perceptions in the years leading up to the First World War, and remains a part of popular culture to this day. Several of the books were written by or ghostwritten for military officers and experts of the day who believed that the nation would be saved if the particular tactic that they favoured was or would be adopted. Pre-"Dorking" Nearly a c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worked as an editor and is also a successful musician. He is best known for his novels about the character Elric of Melniboné, a seminal influence on the field of fantasy since the 1960s and '70s. As editor of the British science fiction magazine ''New Worlds'', from May 1964 until March 1971 and then again from 1976 to 1996, Moorcock fostered the development of the science fiction "New Wave" in the UK and indirectly in the United States, leading to the advent of cyberpunk. His publication of ''Bug Jack Barron'' (1969) by Norman Spinrad as a serial novel was notorious; in Parliament, some British MPs condemned the Arts Council of Great Britain for funding the magazine. He is also a recording musician, contributing to the bands Hawkwind, Blu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Battle Of Dorking
''The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer'' is an 1871 novella by George Tomkyns Chesney, starting the genre of invasion literature and an important precursor of science fiction. Written just after the Prussian victory in the Franco-Prussian War, it describes an invasion of Britain by a German-speaking country referred to in oblique terms as The Other Power or The Enemy. Background Chesney was a captain in the Royal Engineers and had grown concerned over the ramshackle state of Britain's armed forces. He used fiction as a device to promote his views after letters and journalism on the issue had failed to impress public opinion. The Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) had just demonstrated the speed, superiority and adaptability of the Prussian Army, which meant that Chesney's depiction of a fast-moving and determined invader hit a nerve. Plot The story is told as a narrative by an unnamed veteran who participated in the Battle of Dorking. He is recounting the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Tomkyns Chesney
Sir George Tomkyns Chesney (30 April 1830 – 31 March 1895) was a British Army general, politician, and writer of fiction. He is remembered as the author of the novella ''The Battle of Dorking'' (1871), a founding work in the genre of invasion literature. Early life and education George Tomkyns Chesney was born on 30 April 1830 in Tiverton, Devon, one of six children of Sophia Augusta (Cauty) Chesney and Charles Cornwallis Chesney. His brother, Colonel Charles Cornwallis Chesney, achieved prominence as a soldier and military writer; and his sister Matilda Marian Pullan, as a writer on needlework. He was educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton, and at Addiscombe Military Seminary (1847–48). Military career Chesney joined the Bengal Engineers as a second lieutenant in 1848. He was employed for some years in the public works department and, on the outbreak of the Indian rebellion of 1857, joined the Ambala column and was field engineer at the battle of Badli-ki-Serai, brigad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraordinaires'', a series of bestselling adventure novels including ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (1864), ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (1870), and '' Around the World in Eighty Days'' (1872). His novels, always well documented, are generally set in the second half of the 19th century, taking into account the technological advances of the time. In addition to his novels, he wrote numerous plays, short stories, autobiographical accounts, poetry, songs and scientific, artistic and literary studies. His work has been adapted for film and television since the beginning of cinema, as well as for comic books, theater, opera, music and video games. Verne is considered to be an important author in France and most of Europe, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strand Magazine
''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890. Its immediate popularity is evidenced by an initial sale of nearly 300,000. Sales increased in the early months, before settling down to a circulation of almost 500,000 copies a month, which lasted well into the 1930s. It was edited by Herbert Greenhough Smith from 1891 to 1930. The popularity of Sherlock Holmes became widespread after first appearing in the magazine in 1891. The magazine's original offices were on Burleigh Street off The Strand, London. It was revived in 1998 as a quarterly magazine. Publication history ''The Strand Magazine'' was founded by George Newnes in 1890, and its first edition was dated January 1891. The magazine's original offices were located on Burleigh S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Griffith
George Griffith (1857–1906), full name George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones, was a prolific British science fiction writer and noted explorer who wrote during the late Victorian and Edwardian age. Many of his visionary tales appeared in magazines such as ''Pearson's Magazine'' and ''Pearson's Weekly'' before being published as novels. Griffith was extremely popular in the United Kingdom, though he failed to find similar acclaim in the United States, in part due to his utopian socialist views. A journalist, rather than a scientist, by background, what his stories lack in scientific rigour and literary grace they make up for in sheer exuberance of execution. :"To-night that spark was to be shaken from the torch of Revolution, and to-morrow the first of the mines would explode...the armies of Europe would fight their way through the greatest war that the world had ever seen." – from Griffith's most famous novel '' The Angel of the Revolution''. Life He was the son of a vicar who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pearson's Magazine
''Pearson's Magazine'' was a monthly periodical that first appeared in Britain in 1896. A US version began publication in 1899. It specialised in speculative literature, political discussion, often of a socialist bent, and the arts. Its contributors included Upton Sinclair, George Bernard Shaw, Maxim Gorky, George Griffith, H. G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling, Rafael Sabatini, Dornford Yates and E. Phillips Oppenheim, many of whose short stories and novelettes first saw publication in ''Pearson's''. It was the first British periodical to publish a crossword puzzle, in February 1922. History British publisher C. Arthur Pearson established and served as the editor of the monthly magazine from 1896 to 1899. He removed himself as editor as blindness set in but continued as its publisher. Succeeding editors included: * Percy W. Everett (1900–1911) * Philip O'Farrell (1912–1919) * John Reed Wade (January 1920–April 1939) * W.E. Johns (May 1939–November 1939). The magazine ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great War In England In 1897
''The Great War in England in 1897'' was written by William Le Queux and published in 1894. Le Queux's work is an early example of Invasion literature genre, which began with ''The Battle of Dorking'' in 1871, where the British are soundly defeated by an invading German army. ''The Battle of Dorking'' was written by army veteran George Tomkyns Chesney, originally as a warning against the further demobilisation of the British armed forces. Plot Le Queux's novel depicts Britain being invaded by coalition forces led by France and Russia, who make several early advances, but the brave English patriots fight on and eventually manage to turn the tide, especially after Germany enters the war on the side of the British. By the end of the story, the invasion goes the other way as the victors divide the spoils: Britain seizes Algeria and Russian Central Asia, thus decisively winning The Great Game, and Germany annexes more of mainland France in addition to Alsace-Lorraine, thus lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Le Queux
William Tufnell Le Queux ( , ; 2 July 1864 – 13 October 1927) was an Anglo-French journalist and writer. He was also a diplomat (honorary consul for San Marino), a traveller (in Europe, the Balkans and North Africa), a flying buff who officiated at the first British air meeting at Doncaster in 1909, and a wireless pioneer who broadcast music from his own station long before radio was generally available; his claims regarding his own abilities and exploits, however, were usually exaggerated. His best-known works are the anti-French and anti-Russian invasion fantasy '' The Great War in England in 1897'' (1894) and the anti-German invasion fantasy ''The Invasion of 1910'' (1906), the latter becoming a bestseller. Early life Le Queux was born in London. His father was a French draper's assistant and his mother was English. He was educated in Europe and studied art under Ignazio (or Ignace) Spiridon in Paris. He carried out a foot tour of Europe as a young man before supporting him ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Harmsworth Magazine
''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics. 1732–1785 ''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer'' was founded in 1732 in political opposition and rivalry to the Tory-supporting ''Gentleman's Magazine'' and ran for 53 years until its closure in 1785. Edward Kimber became editor in 1755, succeeding his father Isaac Kimber. Henry Mayo was editor from 1775 to 1783. Publishers included Thomas Astley. 1820–1829 In 1820 the ''London Magazine'' was resurrected by the publishers Baldwin, Craddock & Joy under the editorship of John Scott who formatted the magazine along the lines of the Edinburgh publication ''Blackwood's Magazine''. It was during this time that the magazine published poems by William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Clare and John Keats. In September 1821 the first of two instalments of Thomas De Quince ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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