Pope, Gustavus W
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1828-1902) US physician and author, in whose sf series Romances of the Planets – comprising Romances of the Planets, No. 1: Journey to Mars: The Wonderful World; its Beauty and Splendor; its Mighty Races and Kingdoms; its Final Doom (1894) and Romances of the Planets, No. 2: Journey to Venus: The Primeval World, its Wonderful Creations and Gigantic Monsters (1895) – an American officer visits an advanced Mars, where he falls in love with a princess; and a primitive Venus, where he shoots, as E F Bleiler has noted, anything that moves. Apparently some giant "protohominids" (see Apes as Human) are spared for a time, though they are treated as pets; but eventually the sinking of their home islands in a tidal wave does for them. In the first volume, Pope describes his work as a Scientific Romance. Introducing a reprint edition of the first book, Sam Moskowitz noted some adumbrations of Edgar Rice Burroughs's Barsoom. [JC]
see also: History of SF.
Gustavus William Pope
born Oneida, New York: 3 December 1828
died Washington, District of Columbia: 21 July 1902
works
series
Romances of the Planets
- Romances of the Planets, No. 1: Journey to Mars: The Wonderful World; its Beauty and Splendor; its Mighty Races and Kingdoms; its Final Doom (New York: G W Dillingham, 1894) [Romances of the Planets: hb/]
- Romances of the Planets, No. 2: Journey to Venus: The Primeval World, its Wonderful Creations and Gigantic Monsters (Boston, Massachusetts: Arena Publishing Co, 1895) [Romances of the Planets: illus/Miss E L Fairfax and Mrs McAuley: hb/]
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