Bangsian fantasy is a

fantasy genre Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and dra ...

which concerns the use of the

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

as the main setting within which its characters, who may be famous preexisting historical or fictional figures, act and interact. It is named for

John Kendrick Bangs John Kendrick Bangs (May 27, 1862 – January 21, 1922) was an American author, humorist, editor and satirist. Biography He was born in Yonkers, New York. His father Francis N. Bangs was a lawyer in New York City, as was his brother, Francis S ...

(1862–1922), who often wrote it.

Definition

According to

E. F. Bleiler Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...

, in his 1983 ''Guide to Supernatural Fiction'', "Bangs' most noteworthy achievement was a contribution to literary typology: the so-called Bangsian story, in which important literary and historical personalities serve humorously as characters in a slender plot line. Bangs did not invent this subgenre, but his work gave it publicity and literary status." Bleiler's definition does not take into account that some of Bangs' stories, including the definitive Associated Shades series whose characters reside in Hades, are set in the afterlife.

Jess Nevins Jess Nevins (born 1966) is an American author. Nevins is the author of the ''Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana'' and other works on Victoriana and pulp fiction. He is employed as a reference librarian at Lone Star College-Tomball. Comic book ...

' 2003 definition (in ''Heroes & Monsters: The Unofficial Companion to

the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a comic book series (inspired by the 1960 British film ''The League of Gentlemen'') co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The series spans four volum ...

'') says it is "a fantasy of the afterlife in which the ghosts of various famous men and women come together and have various, usually genial, adventures", which closely agrees with Rama Kundu's 2008 definition.

Selected works of Bangsian fantasy

By Bangs

The four Associated Shades books may be considered collections rather than novels. The first three, at least, were first published as serials in ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...

'' shortly preceding their publication as books by

Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

. (Bangs was humor editor for George Harvey's "Harper" magazines from 1889 to 1900.) All were illustrated by

Peter Newell Peter Sheaf Hersey Newell (March 5, 1862 – January 15, 1924) was an American artist and writer. He created picture books and illustrated new editions of many children's books. A native of McDonough County, Illinois, Newell built a reputati ...

. * '' A House-Boat on the Styx'' (1895) * ''

The Pursuit of the House-Boat ''The Pursuit of the House-Boat'' is an 1897 novel by John Kendrick Bangs, and the second one to feature his Associated Shades take on the afterlife. The original full title was ''The Pursuit of the House-Boat: Being Some Further Account of the ...

'' (1897) * ''

The Enchanted Type-Writer ''The Enchanted Type-Writer'' is a collection of short stories by John Kendrick Bangs, published in 1899 with illustrations by Peter Newell. Bangs attributes many of the stories to the late (and invisible) James Boswell, who has become an editor f ...

'' (1899) * ''

Mr. Munchausen ''Mr. Munchausen'' is a novel by John Kendrick Bangs, written in the style that has become known as Bangsian fantasy. It is the fourth book of Bangs' Associated Shades series. Title The book's full title is: :''Mr. Munchausen: Being a True Acc ...

'' (1901)

By others

* ''

Riverworld Riverworld is a fictional planet and the setting for a series of science fiction books written by Philip José Farmer (1918–2009). Riverworld is an artificial "Super-Earth" environment where all humans (and pre-humans) are reconstructed. The b ...

'' series (from 1971) by

Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for his sequences of novels, especially the ''World of Tiers ...

* '' Heroes in Hell'' series (from 1986) by

Janet Morris Janet Ellen Morris (born May 25, 1946) is an American author of fiction and nonfiction, best known for her fantasy and science fiction and her authorship of a non-lethal weapons concept for the U.S. military. Background Writing Janet Morris be ...

* '' What Dreams May Come'' by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

writer

Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science ficti ...

* '' Of the City of the Saved...'' by Philip Purser-Hallard, and subsequent stories by other authors in

The City of the Saved The City of the Saved is a fictional setting originating within the Faction Paradox universe, created by Philip Purser-Hallard for ''The Book of the War'' and employed by him and others (including Simon Bucher-Jones, Kelly Hale, Stephen Marley, ...

sub-series (part of the

Faction Paradox ''Faction Paradox'' is a series of novels, audio stories, short story anthologies, and comics set in and around a "War in Heaven", a history-spanning conflict between godlike "Great Houses" and their mysterious enemy. The series is named after a ...

series).https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18044282-more-tales-of-the-city

References

External links