Morselli, Guido
Entry updated 16 January 2023. Tagged: Author.
(1912-1973) Italian author of at least eight works of fiction, all of which were rejected by Italian publishers during his life. Some are of sf interest. Roma senza Papa ["Rome Without the Pope"] (written 1966-1967; 1974) is a Satire on the Catholic Church, and upon its attempts to "modernize" itself, set in 1997. Contro-passato prossimo: un'ipotesi retrospettiva (written 1969-1970; 1975; trans Hugh Shankland as Past Conditional: A Retrospective Hypothesis 1989) is an Alternate History of the first two decades of the twentieth century whose Jonbar Point is the successful Austrian invasion of Italy through a plausibly described Alpine tunnel during World War One, which the Allies then lose. As a positive consequence of this outcome, the European military fails to wound European civilization fatally in the trenches; a second consequence is the establishment of a federal Europe, whose first president is Max Planck.
Dissipatio H.G. (written 1972-1973; 1977; trans Frederika Randall [1948-2020] as Dissipatio H.G.: The Vanishing 2020) is a Last Man tale whose protagonist, after his attempted Suicide, returns to civilization to find that an unexplained planetary Disaster has evacuated the world of other people. His tour of the exemplary City of Chrysopolis conveys a strong Satirical message. Morselli himself committed Suicide after he learned that this novel had become the seventh book in a row to be rejected by Italian publishers. Within a year his books began to appear, and he soon gained posthumous fame. [JC]
see also: Italy.
Guido Morselli
born Bologna, Italy: 15 August 1912
died Varese, Italy: 30 July 1973
works (selected)
- Roma senza Papa ["Rome Without the Pope"] (Milan, Italy: Adelphi, 1974) [binding unknown/]
- Contro-passato prossimo: un'ipotesi retrospettiva (Milan, Italy: Adelphi, 1975) [binding unknown/]
- Past Conditional: A Retrospective Hypothesis (London: Chatto and Windus, 1989) [trans by Hugh Shankland of the above: hb/from painting by Robert Lindner]
- Dissipatio H.G. ["The Dissolution of the Human Race"] (Milan, Italy: Adelphi, 1977) [binding unknown/]
- Dissipatio H.G.: The Vanishing (New York: New York Review Books, 2020) [trans by Frederika Randall of the above: pb/from Lester Johnson]
links
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