De Selby (spelled "de Selby" in ''The Third Policeman'' and "De Selby" in ''The Dalkey Archive'') is a fictional character originally created by Flann O'Brien for his novel ''

The Third Policeman ''The Third Policeman'' is a novel by Irish writer Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. It was written in 1939 and 1940, but after it initially failed to find a publisher, the author withdrew the manuscript from circulation ...

'' in which the nameless narrator intends to use the proceeds of murder and robbery to publish his commentaries on de Selby — a savant who theorizes, among other things, that the earth is actually shaped like a sausage.NPR Books The Funniest, and Scariest, Book Ever Written CHRIS LEHMANN (2006) https://www.npr.org/2006/08/22/5684946/the-funniest-and-scariest-book-ever-written O’Brien's text and footnotes mention a number of de Selby's works including ''Golden Hours'', ''The Country Album,'' ''A Memoir of Garcia,'' ''Layman’s Atlas'' and the ''Codex''. The fictional Bassett and Hatchjaw wrote biographies ''Lux Mundi: A memoir of de Selby'' and ''de Selby’s Life and Times'', both lost. Le Fournier, du Garbandier, Kraus and Le Clerque are supposed sources of de Selby material, but their works (suiting the fiction) were lost.Irish Philosophy http://www.irishphilosophy.com/2014/04/01/de-selby-ireland/ As discussed in ''Irish Philosophy'', de Selby believed human existence was “a succession of static experiences each infinitely brief” and “a journey is a hallucination” which he demonstrated by travelling from Bath to Folkestone by means of picture postcards of the supposed route, barometric instruments, clocks and a device to regulate gaslight to simulate sunlight at various “times” of day. Another theory of de Selby's was that mirrors held the secret to eternity, claiming a huge array of parallel mirrors allowed him to see his own face as a boy of twelve. Described as an eminent "physicist, ballistician, philosopher and psychologist", de Selby is known for his paradoxically non-scientific beliefs and personality. De Selby serves as an

unseen character An unseen character in theatre, comics, film, or television, or silent character in radio or literature, is a character that is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and w ...

in ''The Third Policeman'', where he is discussed at length in references and footnotes which tenuously link his unorthodox theories and areas of research to the plot. (In one footnote, he attempts to dilute water; in another, he posits that night is caused by the accumulation of "black air".) O'Brien's novel ''

The Dalkey Archive ''The Dalkey Archive'' is a 1964 novel by the Irish writer Flann O'Brien. It is his fifth and final novel, published two years before his death. It was adapted for the stage by Hugh Leonard in 1965 as ''The Saints Go Cycling In''.

'' focused on de Selby himself. De Selby has a host of critical analyzers – the narrator among them – many of whom have deeply conflicting opinions of his esoteric thoughts. Although generally held in high regard by these people (many of whom hate each other), he is thought by many to have had regrettable lapses and is even called, by implication, a "nincompoop". In ''The Third Policeman'' one of de Selby's biographers is quoted as saying "The beauty of reading a page of de Selby is that it leads one inescapably to the happy conviction that one is not, of all nincompoops, the greatest." In ''

'', de Selby develops a substance ("D.M.P.") capable of extracting all

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

from an airtight enclosure, thus disrupting the sequentiality of time, incidentally making it possible to produce fine mature whiskey in a week. De Selby vows to use the substance to destroy the world in the name of God. "de Selby" and his commentators are frequently cited in the footnotes of

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...

's novel ''The Widow's Son''. Wilson later included Professor de Selby as the main character in his short story "The Horror on Howth Hill" where de Selby has a conversation with J. R. "Bob" Dobbs.

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De Selby Canned Darkness...

{{Brian O'Nolan Characters in fantasy literature Characters in Irish novels Characters in novels of the 20th century Literary characters introduced in 1964 Fictional mad scientists Fictional parapsychologists Fictional physicists Fictional writers