Thursday 31 August 2017

Pretence

Elwin Ransom corresponds with, then meets, CS Lewis. Then Lewis writes a fictionalised account of Ransom's journey to Mars.

Jack Havig converses with Robert Anderson who converses with Poul Anderson. Then the second Anderson writes a fictionalised account of Havig's time travelling.

In his Preface to Last And First Men, Olaf Stapledon informs his readers that this is a work of fiction whereas, in his Introduction to the same work, one of the Last Men informs us that the actual writer thinks that he is writing fiction.

Thus, three works of fiction that, for dramatic effect, pretend to be true accounts of:

space travel (Lewis);
time travel (Anderson);
both time and space travel (Stapledon).

My mind is not often blown but this can do it.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Ha! I still remember how uneasy Poul Anderson's preface to THERE WILL BE TIME made me! Esp. the bit about the box of papers allegedly left to PA by "Robert Anderson." For years I kept wondering if then current events would "match up" with what THERE WILL BE TIME said. I have to concede I was taken in by that preface! (Smiles)

Sean