George Griffith
George Griffith | |
---|---|
Born | George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones 20 August 1857 Plymouth, Devon, England |
Died | 4 June 1906 Port Erin, Isle of Man | (aged 48)
Pen name |
|
Occupation | Writer |
Language | English |
Notable works |
|
Spouse |
Elizabeth Brierly (m. 1887) |
Children | 3, including Alan Arnold |
George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones (20 August 1857 – 4 June 1906) was a British writer. He was active mainly in the
Griffith grew up with his parents and older brother, receiving home-schooling and moving frequently during his childhood due to his father's career as a clergyman. Following his father's death when Griffith was 14 years old, he went to school for little over a year before leaving England and travelling the world, returning at the age of 19. He then worked as a teacher for ten years before pursuing a career in writing. After an initial setback that left Griffith without the means to provide for himself, he was hired by the publisher C. Arthur Pearson in 1890. Griffith made his literary breakthrough with his debut novel The Angel of the Revolution (1893), which was serialized in Pearson's Weekly before being published in book format. He signed a contract of exclusivity with Pearson and followed it up with the likewise successful sequel Olga Romanoff (1894).
Griffith was highly active as a writer throughout the 1890s, producing numerous serials and short stories for Pearson's various publications. He also wrote non-fiction for Pearson and went on various travel assignments. Among these were an 1894 publicity stunt in which he circumnavigated the world in 65 days, an 1895 journey to South America where he covered the various revolutionary movements active there at the time, and an 1896 trip to Southern Africa that resulted in Griffith writing the novel Briton or Boer? (1897) anticipating the outbreak of the
Griffith was both successful and influential as a writer at the peak of his career, but he has since descended into obscurity. Retrospective assessments have found his works to have been timely and prescient—in particular with regard to the importance of aerial warfare—but not timeless, and he is commonly regarded as a relatively poor writer, especially when compared to his main rival, Wells. He regularly incorporated his personal viewpoints into his fiction, and anti-American sentiments expressed in this way ensured that he never established a readership in the United States as publishers there would not print his works. He was irreligious and in his youth advocated fiercely for secularism. Politically, Griffith was early an outspoken socialist, though he is believed to have gradually shifted towards more right-leaning sympathies later in his life. Socially, he has been described as embodying Victorian ideals, including social conservatism and staunch pro-British views.
Biography
Early life
George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones was born in Plymouth, Devon, on 20 August 1857.[1] His parents were the clergyman George Alfred Jones and Jeanette Henry Capinster Jones.[2]: 183 [3]: 44 The family, which also included Griffith's older brother, moved repeatedly during his childhood due to his father's career.[3]: 44 [4]: 104 They moved from Plymouth to Tring, Hertfordshire, in 1860, then on to two poverty-stricken parishes in the Greater Manchester area: first to Ashton-under-Lyne in 1861, and then to Mossley, where his father was appointed vicar in 1864.[2]: 184 [3]: 44
As the family's financial situation did not allow for the formal education of two sons, Griffith was home-schooled,[4]: 104 with his mother teaching him French and his father Latin and Greek.[2]: 184 He also spent considerable time exploring his father's extensive library, which was filled with the works of authors who would later serve as Griffith's literary influences, including Walter Scott and Jules Verne.[2]: 184 [4]: 104 Following the death of his father in January 1872, he started studying at a private school in Southport at the age of 14.[2]: 184 There the limits of his home-schooling soon became apparent, the lack of any mathematical proficiency in particular, but through concerted effort he progressed to being the second-best pupil in his class.[2]: 184 [5]: 20
Then I went to another school, or perhaps I should put it more correctly if I said that I matriculated in the greatest of all universities—the world. I went to sea as an apprentice on a Liverpool lime-juicer ... In the seventy-eight days between Liverpool and Melbourne I learnt more of the world than I had learnt in fourteen years, but the methods of tuition didn't suit me. The learning was hammered in a little too hard, mostly with a rope's end and the softest part of a belaying pin, so I took French leave of that class-room and went to another; in plain English, I ran away from my ship and went up in the bush.
George Griffith, quoted in Sam Moskowitz, Strange Horizons: The Spectrum of Science Fiction[2]: 184–185
Griffith left the school after 15 months, out of economic necessity—his father had left behind less than £300, all of which went to his wife in the absence of a will—and joined a sailing ship as an
Teaching career
Griffith started working as a
Writing career
Early career
Griffith and Brierly moved to
A friend of Griffith's wrote him a letter of introduction to the publisher C. Arthur Pearson.[2]: 186 [4]: 104 He got a job at the newly founded Pearson's Weekly in 1890, initially tasked by the editor Peter Keary with writing addresses on envelopes for the magazine's competitions.[2]: 186 [8]: 302/397 He made a good impression on Keary through his skill as a conversationalist, largely owing to his background travelling the world, and was soon promoted to columnist.[2]: 186–187 He carried on in this capacity for the rest of the decade.[2]: 187
Breakthrough
Griffith made his literary breakthrough in 1893 with what was then known as a
The London-based Tower Publishing Company quickly secured the book rights to The Angel of the Revolution, publishing an abridged hardcover edition in October 1893.[2]: 192 [15]: 303 The book version was likewise a success, receiving rave reviews and becoming a best-seller; it was printed in six editions within a year and at least eleven editions in total, and a review in The Pelican declared Griffith to be "a second Jules Verne".[2]: 192 [4]: 106 [5]: 23–24 [16]: 60 Pearson responded by signing a contract of exclusivity with Griffith and providing him with a secretary for dictation.[2]: 192 [4]: 106 [5]: 24 Griffith was then the most popular and commercially successful science fiction author in the country.[2]: 182 [5]: 19 [17]: 39 The Angel of the Revolution was not, however, published in the United States in either book or serial format.[4]: 106 [5]: 20 Due to anti-American sentiments expressed in Griffith's work—in the story, the Constitution of the United States is physically destroyed and it is stated that "there were few who in their hearts did not believe the Republic to be a colossal fraud", for instance—US publishers wanted nothing to do with him or his stories.[2]: 182, 190 None of Griffith's books were published in the US until more than half a century after his death, and it would not be until 1902 that the first and only serial of his was published in a US magazine.[a][2]: 214 [5]: 20 [16]: 65
Mid-1890s
The success of The Angel of the Revolution quickly led to the announcement of a sequel,
Pearson tasked Griffith with writing a new future-war serial to boost sales of Short Stories, a magazine he had acquired in mid-1893.[2]: 196–197 [3]: 48 [4]: 106 This became The Outlaws of the Air, serialized between 8 September 1894 and 23 March 1895.[1][4]: 106 [15]: 304 It was the last of Griffith's stories to be published by Tower before the company folded in June 1896; while the hardcover released in June 1895 sold well, he likely never received payment for it.[1][2]: 200 [21] The story mostly reiterated the main points of The Angel of the Revolution on a smaller scale, and while reviews were good, it was largely overshadowed by the release of Olga Romanoff.[2]: 197, 200 [3]: 48 [4]: 106 Griffith's next novel was the fantasy Valdar the Oft-Born, serialized 2 February – 24 August 1895 in Pearson's Weekly and published in book format by C. Arthur Pearson Ltd the same year.[1][2]: 198–200 [4]: 106 It is a tale of an immortal, an intentional imitation of Edwin Lester Arnold's The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician (1890)—such imitation being common in the literature of the time.[2]: 198–200 [3]: 49–50 [4]: 106 It was fairly well received by audiences, albeit not as warmly as Phra the Phoenician had been.[4]: 106
Griffith travelled to Peru on assignment in February 1895.
At this time, Pearson was expanding his business.[2]: 202–203 He launched a new all-serial magazine called Pearson's Story Teller on 9 October 1895, for which Griffith wrote the historical adventure story The Knights of the White Rose.[2]: 202 Pearson discovered new talents such as Louis Tracy and attracted established ones to his ventures, and launched the monthly periodical Pearson's Magazine in January 1896, intended as a prestige competitor to The Strand Magazine.[2]: 202–203 [3]: 50 Feeling that Griffith's serials were a poor fit for the new magazine, Pearson relegated him to writing ancillary materials for the publication.[2]: 203–204 [3]: 50 These included a March 1896 article harshly critical of US involvement in the construction of the Panama Canal and of the Monroe Doctrine more generally, titled "The Grave of a Nation's Honour", and the short story "A Genius for a Year" published under his pseudonym Levin Carnac in June 1896.[2]: 203–204 H. G. Wells, whose The Time Machine (1895) had been a great success, wrote "In the Abyss" for the August 1896 issue of Pearson's Magazine and quickly replaced Griffith as Pearson's favourite science fiction writer.[2]: 204 [4]: 107 [18] During the second half of the 1890s, Wells also supplanted Griffith as the best-selling science fiction writer, and the one most acclaimed by the public.[2]: 182 [4]: 106–107 [9]: 313 Pearson would go on to publish Wells's The War of the Worlds in Pearson's Magazine April–December 1897 and The Invisible Man in Pearson's Weekly 12 June – 7 August 1897 as well as in an expanded book format in September 1897; the enormous success of the former meant Wells could work for whomever he pleased and name his price, and he would only write sporadically for Pearson thereafter.[2]: 206–208 [4]: 107 [18]
In 1896, Griffith went on another travel assignment for Pearson, this time to
Decline
By the late 1890s, Griffith's career was in decline.[2]: 212 [3]: 51 Pearson had promised him the position of editor for a new publication with an international angle: The Passport, to be launched in 1897; the magazine never went to press.[4]: 107 [16]: 66 Griffith nevertheless continued his prolific writing, with his serial The Gold Magnet appearing in Short Stories starting on 16 October 1897 and the short story "The Great Crellin Comet" appearing in the special Christmas issue[d] of Pearson's Weekly the same year.[2]: 209 [3]: 50 [4]: 107 The former was later published in book format as The Gold-Finder by F. V. White in 1898, and the latter was included in Griffith's short story collection Gambles with Destiny, published by White in 1899.[4]: 107 [15]: 304–305 He returned to the future war genre with The Great Pirate Syndicate, which was serialized in another of Pearson's magazines, Pick-Me-Up, 19 February – 23 July 1898.[1][2]: 211 It was a moderate commercial success, and F. V. White published it in book format in 1899.[1][4]: 107
Feeling the need for a change of pace, Griffith then turned to writing historical novels.
By 1899, Griffith had moved from his
Following the turn of the century, Griffith and Pearson parted ways.
Final years
The twilight years of Griffith's career were marked by a return to the future war genre, a great quantity of such stories being produced towards the end of his life.: 53
Virtually to his dying gasp, Griffith continued to dictate war after war, each to end all wars.
Sam Moskowitz, Strange Horizons: The Spectrum of Science Fiction[2]: 216
Griffith's health was failing.
Death
Griffith died at his home in Port Erin on 4 June 1906, at the age of 48.
Legacy
Place in science fiction history
It almost seemed as though there was a conspiracy to see that his name was obliterated from the literary record.
Sam Moskowitz, writing in 1974 about the difficulty of locating the necessary information for a biography about Griffith.[10]: 6
In his time, Griffith was both successful and influential in his home country. Following the publication of
In spite of all this, Griffith and his works have now descended into obscurity, something several modern writers have remarked upon as being peculiar.
Literary proficiency
Later appraisals of Griffith's skill as a writer have often found it to be lacking. Bleiler summarizes Griffith as "Historically important, but a bad writer technically";[15]: 302 Harris-Fain outlines his principal failings as "an uninspired, if not clichéd, style, poor characterization, weak ideas, and repetition".[4]: 108 Stableford calls Griffith "rather inept" and views him as lacking originality, noting that he would often name his sources of inspiration outright;[3]: 45, 54 The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction similarly describes him as borrowing themes "more conspicuously from earlier texts than was the custom then".[1] Many have noted an apparent prioritization of quantity over quality especially in the later years of his career,[3]: 54 [4]: 108 [24]: 167 and his earlier works are commonly regarded as broadly superior to his later ones,[1][4]: 107 [11]: 12 with some critics such as Stableford and Darko Suvin opining that he peaked as early as his debut novels in The Angel of the Revolution sequence.[3]: 48–49 [8]: 303/398 Stableford comments that Griffith's second novel Olga Romanoff left no room for further escalation in scope, and that toning the extravagance down for later works drained his stories of their initial vibrancy.[3]: 48 Michael Moorcock, in the introduction to the 1975 anthology Before Armageddon, calls Griffith "the first 'professional' science-fiction writer", inasmuch as he wrote primarily for money and in service of his employers, and comments that "any integrity that his earlier fiction had possessed was soon lost".[11]: 11–12 [21] The serial format has also been noted as detrimental to the quality of several of his works: they were written piece-by-piece to meet tight deadlines and provide cliffhangers, which resulted in uneven pacing, poor structure, and unsatisfying resolutions.[2]: 195, 197 [3]: 48–49 Stableford further identifies Griffith's apparent alcoholism as a likely cause of declining quality over time.[3]: 49
Among Griffith's strengths, a certain prescience is often cited.
In relation to H. G. Wells
During Griffith's lifetime, comparisons were frequently made between his works and those of H. G. Wells—to the chagrin of Wells, who viewed himself as producing literature of a higher class than Griffith.[9]: 313 [17]: 39 [30]: 12 Wells reviewed Griffith's The Outlaws of the Air in Saturday Review in 1895, finding it passable but not living up to its potential.[30]: 11 Wells quickly overtook Griffith in reputation, and The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction writes that Griffith attempted in vain to garner critical praise by covering different literary ground in order to get out of Wells's shadow.[1]
Comparisons have continued to be made long after both men's deaths. Wells is known to have read Griffith's works and is widely believed by scholars on Griffith to have been influenced by them.
Wells is generally regarded as the superior writer.[3]: 54 [4]: 106, 108 [9]: 313 [15]: 302 [24]: 167 Harris-Fain states that while both writers had "imaginative ideas and exciting stories", only Wells was able to incorporate "serious themes and philosophical speculations".[4]: 108 Wood and Mollmann both comment that Wells more accurately predicted the future of warfare than did Griffith. Wood focuses on Wells depicting aerial warfare as insufficient to maintain control on the ground and draws comparisons to strategic bombing during World War II. Mollmann focuses on Wells portraying technological developments being adopted by all warring parties roughly at the same time—thus leading to more destructive warfare but not to anybody having a decisive technological advantage—and draws comparisons to World War I.[30]: 16–17 [31]: 26, 31–32
Personal views
Religion
There was, without a doubt, a streak of messianism in Griffith and he held, at one time, strong political beliefs. But after he had been working for a while for Pearson he had, in common with most journalists of his kind, probably left most ideals behind him, and his work was dictated entirely by the demands of his publishers.
Griffith was
Politics
Early in his career, Griffith was an outspoken socialist.
Social matters
[...] a brief and simple service of thanksgiving for the victory which had wiped the stain of foreign invasion from the soil of Britain in the blood of the invader, and given the control of the destinies of the Western world finally into the hands of the dominant race on earth.
George Griffith, The Angel of the Revolution (1893)[29]: 142
On Griffith's social views, Stableford contrasts Griffith's gradually shifting views on economics with the observation that he consistently portrayed
Publications
Poetry collections
Year | Title | Publisher | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1883 | Poems General, Secular, and Satirical | W. Stewart & Co.
|
as Lara | [8]: 302/398 |
1884 | The Dying Faith | W. Stewart & Co. | as Lara | [8]: 302/398 |
Novels
Year | Title | Publisher | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1893 | The Angel of the Revolution: A Tale of the Coming Terror | Tower Publishing Company | originally serialized in Pearson's Weekly, 21 January – 14 October 1893 | [1] |
1894 | Olga Romanoff; or, The Syren of the Skies | Tower Publishing Company | originally serialized as The Syren of the Skies in Pearson's Weekly, 30 December 1893 – 4 August 1894 | [1][19] |
1895 | The Outlaws of the Air | Tower Publishing Company | originally serialized in Short Stories, 8 September 1894 – 23 March 1895 | [15]: 304 |
1895 | Valdar the Oft-Born: A Saga of Seven Ages | C. Arthur Pearson Ltd | originally serialized in Pearson's Weekly, 2 February – 24 August 1895 | [1] |
1897 | Briton or Boer? A Tale of the Fight for Africa | F. V. White | originally serialized in Pearson's Weekly, 1 August 1896 – 9 January 1897 | [1][2]: 204–205 |
1897 | The Knights of the White Rose | F. V. White | originally serialized in Pearson's Story Teller | [2]: 202 [4]: 103 |
1897 | The Romance of Golden Star | F. V. White | originally serialized as Golden Star in Short Stories, 7 September – 21 December 1895 | [15]: 304 |
1898 | The Virgin of the Sun: A Tale of the Conquest of Peru | C. Arthur Pearson Ltd | [1][32]: 133 | |
1898 | The Destined Maid | F. V. White | [4]: 103 | |
1898 | The Gold-Finder | F. V. White | originally serialized as The Gold Magnet in Short Stories, 1897 | [15]: 304 |
1899 | The Great Pirate Syndicate | F. V. White | originally serialized in Pick-Me-Up, 19 February – 23 July 1898 | [1] |
1899 | The Rose of Judah | C. Arthur Pearson Ltd | originally serialized in Pearson's Weekly, 8 October 1898 – 23 January 1899 | [2]: 212 [4]: 103 |
1900 | "Thou Shalt Not—" | C. Arthur Pearson Ltd | as Stanton Morich; originally serialized in The Sunday Reader, 1899 | [4]: 103 [10]: 42 |
1900 | Brothers of the Chain | F. V. White | [4]: 103 | |
1901 | Denver's Double: A Story of Inverted Identity | F. V. White | [1] | |
1901 | The Justice of Revenge | F. V. White | [4]: 103 | |
1901 | Captain Ishmael | Hutchinson
|
[4]: 103 | |
1901 | A Honeymoon in Space | C. Arthur Pearson Ltd | originally serialized as Stories of Other Worlds in Pearson's Magazine, January–July 1900[e] | [1][2]: 213 |
1902 | The Missionary | F. V. White | [4]: 103 | |
1902 | The White Witch of Mayfair | F. V. White | [1] | |
1903 | The Lake of Gold: A Narrative of the Anglo-American Conquest of Europe | F. V. White | originally serialized in Argosy, December 1902 – July 1903 | [1] |
1903 | A Woman Against the World | F. V. White | [1] | |
1903 | The World Masters | John Long Ltd | [1] | |
1904 | A Criminal Croesus | John Long Ltd | [1] | |
1904 | The Stolen Submarine: A Tale of the Russo-Japanese War | F. V. White | [1] | |
1905 | His Better Half | F. V. White | [4]: 103 | |
1905 | An Island Love Story | F. V. White | [4]: 103 | |
1905 | A Mayfair Magician | F. V. White | expanded from the earlier short story "The Searcher of Souls" | [3]: 51 [4]: 103 |
1906 | A Conquest of Fortune | F. V. White | [4]: 104 | |
1906 | The Great Weather Syndicate | F. V. White | [1] | |
1906 | His Beautiful Client | F. V. White | [4]: 104 | |
1906 | The Mummy and Miss Nitocris: A Phantasy of the Fourth Dimension | T. Werner Laurie
|
expanded from the earlier short stories "The Vengeance of Nitocris" and "The Conversion of the Professor" | [1][13]: 53 |
1907 | The World Peril of 1910 | F. V. White | expanded from the earlier short story "The Great Crellin Comet" | [1][2]: 216 |
1908 | John Brown, Buccaneer | F. V. White | [4]: 104 | |
1908 | The Sacred Skull | Everett & Co. | [1] | |
1911 | The Lord of Labour | F. V. White | last work written and last work published (posthumously) | [2]: 215 [3]: 54 |
Short stories
Year | Issue | Title | Publication | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1894 | January 27 | "A Gamble with Destiny" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1894 | February 3 | "The General's Gloves" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1894 | February 10 | "Up a Gum Tree" | Short Stories | [13]: 55 | |
1894 | February 17 | "Jonah's Yarn" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1894 | March 3 | "A Romance of the Hills" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1894 | July 21 | "The True Fate of the 'Flying Dutchman'" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1894 | Christmas | "The Romance of Rajah Mountain" | Pearson's Weekly | [13]: 55 | |
1895 | April 6 | "A Woman's Justice" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1895 | April 13 | "The Cruise of the 'Hampshire Maid'" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1895 | April 20 | "The Heroine of Six Mile Creek" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1895 | April 27 | "A True Tale of the 48" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1895 | May 4 | "The Tragedy of Old Man Porter" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1895 | May 11 | "The Gold Plant" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1895 | Christmas | "A Tale of Old Pompeii" | Pearson's Weekly | [13]: 55 | |
1896 | April | "A Photograph of the Invisible" | Pearson's Magazine | [13]: 56 | |
1896 | June | "A Genius for a Year" | Pearson's Magazine | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 56 |
1896 | Christmas | "The Vengeance of Nitocris" | Pearson's Weekly | incorporated alongside "The Conversion of the Professor" into The Mummy and Miss Nitocris in 1906 | [13]: 53, 55 |
1897 | July | "The Diamond Dog" | Pearson's Magazine | first of several connected "I.D.B." (illicit diamond buying) stories | [13]: 53, 57 [33]: 49 |
1897 | August | "A Run to Freetown" | Pearson's Magazine | "I.D.B." story | [13]: 57 |
1897 | September | "The King's Rose Diamond" | Pearson's Magazine | "I.D.B." story | [13]: 57 |
1897 | October | "The Finding of Diamond Pan" | Pearson's Magazine | "I.D.B." story | [13]: 57 |
1897 | November | "Five Hundred Carats" | Pearson's Magazine | "I.D.B." story | [13]: 57 |
1897 | December | "The Border Gang" | Pearson's Magazine | "I.D.B." story | [13]: 57 |
1897 | Christmas | "The Great Crellin Comet" | Pearson's Weekly | later expanded into the posthumously-published 1907 novel The World Peril of 1910 | [2]: 216 [13]: 55 |
1898 | March | "A Corner in Lightning" | Pearson's Magazine | [13]: 57 | |
1898 | July | "At the Sign of the 'Golden Star'" | Pearson's Magazine | "I.D.B." story | [13]: 57 |
1898 | July 30 | "A Woman Scorned" | Pick-Me-Up | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 56 |
1898 | August 6 | "Hellville, U.S.A." | Pearson's Weekly | [13]: 55 | |
1898 | August 6 | "Condemned by Circumstance" | Pearson's Weekly | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 55 |
1898 | August 6 | "A Double Rose" | Pick-Me-Up | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 56 |
1898 | August 13 | "La Giralda" | Pick-Me-Up | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 56 |
1898 | August 20 | "The Curse of Ham" | Pick-Me-Up | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 56 |
1898 | August 27 | "A Withered Rose-Leaf" | Pick-Me-Up | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 56 |
1898 | September 3 | "Lola's Two Lovers" | Pick-Me-Up | as Levin Carnac | [13]: 56 |
1898 | September 10 | "Some Notes from a Private Diary, which Speculates on Choruses and Muses" | Pick-Me-Up | [13]: 56 | |
1898 | October | "Beauty in Camp" | Pearson's Magazine | "I.D.B." story | [13]: 57 |
1898 | Christmas | "The Veil of Tanit" | Pearson's Weekly | [13]: 55 | |
1899 | May | "The Conversion of the Professor" | Pearson's Magazine | incorporated alongside "The Vengeance of Nitocris" into The Mummy and Miss Nitocris in 1906 | [13]: 53, 57 |
1899 | July | "The Plague Ship 'Tupisa'" | Pearson's Magazine | [13]: 57 | |
1899 | Christmas | "The Searcher of Souls" | Pearson's Weekly | later expanded into the 1905 novel A Mayfair Magician | [3]: 51 [13]: 55 |
1901 | February | "The Raid of 'Le Vengeur'" | Pearson's Magazine | [13]: 58 | |
1903 | October | "The Lost Elixir" | The Pall Mall Magazine | [4]: 107 | |
1904 | October | "From Pole to Pole" | The Windsor Magazine | [4]: 107 |
Short story collections
Year | Title | Publisher | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1894 | A Heroine of the Slums | Tower Publishing Company | [8]: 302/397 | |
1899 | Gambles with Destiny | F. V. White | [15]: 305 | |
1899 | Knaves of Diamonds, Being Tales of Mine and Veld | C. Arthur Pearson Ltd | collection of "I.D.B." stories; reprinted as The Diamond Dog, 1913 | [8]: 302/398 [13]: 53 |
Non-fiction books
Year | Title | Publisher | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1897 | Men Who Have Made the Empire | C. Arthur Pearson Ltd | originally published in 12 parts in Short Stories, 25 May – 10 August 1897 | [13]: 53, 56 |
1901 | In an Unknown Prison Land: An Account of Convicts and Colonists in New Caledonia | Hutchinson
|
[8]: 302/398 | |
1903 | With Chamberlain through South Africa | George Routledge & Sons
|
[13]: 54 | |
1903 | Sidelights on Convict Life | John Long Ltd | originally published irregularly in Pearson's Magazine | [13]: 54, 57–58 |
Explanatory notes
- ^ a b Not counting the US edition of Pearson's Magazine,[17]: 34 which at the time carried the same material as the UK edition, and wherein Stories of Other Worlds appeared in 1900.[18] Thus, while two of Griffith's serials were published in the US, only one was published in a magazine that was both edited and published in the US.[2]: 214
- ^ Later published in book form in 2008 under the title Around the World in 65 Days.[19]
- ^ See e.g. Federalist Revolution (Brazil), Liberal Revolution of 1895 (Ecuador), Peruvian Civil War of 1894–1895, and Venezuelan crisis of 1895.
- ^ Says Moskowitz, "It was the vogue during that time to publish an extra issue at a greater size and price to be given as a gift at Christmas."[2]: 209
- ^ a b See A Honeymoon in Space § Publication history.
- ^ Variously described by later writers as atheist,[20]: 12, 15 agnostic,[12]: 82 and having "embraced no religion".[2]: 214
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Eggeling, John; Clute, John (2024). "Griffith, George". In Clute, John; Langford, David; Sleight, Graham (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (4th ed.). Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-684-14774-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-312-70305-9.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8103-9941-9.
- ^ ISSN 0024-6085.
- ^ a b c d e f "Editorial note to Stories of Other Worlds No. VI: "Homeward Bound"". Pearson's Magazine. July 1900. p. 67.
- ^ ISBN 0-88355-128-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55862-179-4.
Griffith was to become the first 'professional' science-fiction writer, working primarily for money and for the magazines, anxious to please his public, to serve his editorial masters.
Alan Arnold Griffith was born on 13 June 1893, the eldest of three children [...]
The future-war novel had already acquired considerable popularity when he started writing, but most of the works in this subgenre consisted of extended descriptive narratives with little concern for plot or characterization. Griffith changed that dramatically with The Angel of the Revolution (1893) and its sequel, Olga Romanoff (1894).
Through Griffith's efforts, novels concerned with war in the future evolved into commentaries on the state of politics.
[Griffith's stories] were very much of their day, and for that reason George Griffith is no longer remembered today.
Air-to-surface missiles are deployed in The Angel of the Revolution (1893) by George Griffith.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-19-811760-5.
- McLean, Steven (2014). "Revolution as an Angel from the Sky: George Griffith's Aeronautical Speculation" (PDF). Journal of Literature and Science. 7 (2): 37–61. (PDF) from the original on 21 February 2015.