"The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall" (1835) is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in the June 1835 issue of the monthly magazine Southern Literary Messenger as "Hans Phaall -- A Tale", intended by Poe to be a hoax.[1]
The story is regarded as one of the early examples of the modern science fiction genre.[2][3][4] The story traces the journey of a voyage to the moon.
Poe planned to continue the hoax in further installments, but was pre-empted by the Great Moon Hoax which started in the August 25, 1835 issue of the New York Sun daily newspaper. Poe later wrote that the satirical tone of the story made it easy for readers to see through the supposed hoax.
Yan Dargent's illustration about The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall for Jules Verne's "Edgar Poe et ses œuvres" (1864)
The story opens with the delivery to a crowd gathered in Rotterdam of a manuscript detailing the journey of a man named Hans Pfaall. The manuscript, which comprises the majority of the story, sets out in detail how Pfaall contrived to reach the Moon by benefit of a revolutionary new balloon and a device which compresses the vacuum of space into breathable air. The journey takes him nineteen days, and the narrative includes descriptions of the Earth from space as well as the descent to its fiery, volcanic satellite. Pfaall withholds most of the information regarding the surface of the Moon and its inhabitants in order to negotiate a pardon from the Burgomaster for several murders he committed as he left Earth (creditors of his who were becoming irksome). After reading the manuscript, the city authorities agree that Pfaall should be pardoned, but the messenger who brought them the text (apparently a resident of the Moon) has vanished and they are unable to restore communication with him.
Literary significanceedit
Poe's story had an influence on, and is referenced in, Jules Verne'sFrom the Earth to the Moon, which can be seen as a retelling of the story.[5] Verne acknowledged Poe as the creator of the "scientific novel" when he referred to him as 'le créateur du roman merveilleux scientifique'.
Poe later published a similar hoax, "The Balloon-Hoax", in the New York Sun in 1844.
^Ketterer, David. “Poe's Usage of the Hoax and the Unity of ‘Hans Phaall.’” Criticism, vol. 13, no. 4, 1971, pp. 377–385. Accessed 29 Nov. 2020.
^Shenoy, Gautham. "Edgar Allan Poe – The father of science fiction? Factor Daily. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
^"Edgar Allan Poe Pioneers Science Fiction." National Park Service. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
^Olney, Clarke. “Edgar Allan Poe—Science-Fiction Pioneer.” The Georgia Review, vol. 12, no. 4, 1958, pp. 416–421. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41395580. Accessed 30 Nov. 2020.
^Tretsch, John. "Extra! Extra! Poe invents science fiction!" as collected in The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe, edited by Kevin J. Hayes. Cambridge University Press, 2002: 117. ISBN0-521-79727-6
External linksedit
The full text of The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall at Wikisource
Publication history and versions of "Hans Pfaall"
"Hans Phaall -- A Tale", Southern Literary Messenger, Volume 1, Issue 10, June, 1835, pp. 565-580
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, Raven Edition, Volume 1 public domain audiobook at LibriVox
The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaal at Must-ReadClassics
January 01, 1970
unparalleled, adventure, hans, pfaall, 1835, short, story, edgar, allan, published, june, 1835, issue, monthly, magazine, southern, literary, messenger, hans, phaall, tale, intended, hoax, short, story, edgar, allan, poetext, available, wikisourceoriginal, tit. The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall 1835 is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in the June 1835 issue of the monthly magazine Southern Literary Messenger as Hans Phaall A Tale intended by Poe to be a hoax 1 The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall Short story by Edgar Allan PoeText available at WikisourceOriginal titleHans Phaall A TaleCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenre s Science fiction hoaxPublicationPublisherSouthern Literary MessengerMedia typePrint periodical Publication dateJune 1835 The story is regarded as one of the early examples of the modern science fiction genre 2 3 4 The story traces the journey of a voyage to the moon Poe planned to continue the hoax in further installments but was pre empted by the Great Moon Hoax which started in the August 25 1835 issue of the New York Sun daily newspaper Poe later wrote that the satirical tone of the story made it easy for readers to see through the supposed hoax Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Literary significance 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksPlot summary edit nbsp Yan Dargent s illustration about The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall for Jules Verne s Edgar Poe et ses œuvres 1864 The story opens with the delivery to a crowd gathered in Rotterdam of a manuscript detailing the journey of a man named Hans Pfaall The manuscript which comprises the majority of the story sets out in detail how Pfaall contrived to reach the Moon by benefit of a revolutionary new balloon and a device which compresses the vacuum of space into breathable air The journey takes him nineteen days and the narrative includes descriptions of the Earth from space as well as the descent to its fiery volcanic satellite Pfaall withholds most of the information regarding the surface of the Moon and its inhabitants in order to negotiate a pardon from the Burgomaster for several murders he committed as he left Earth creditors of his who were becoming irksome After reading the manuscript the city authorities agree that Pfaall should be pardoned but the messenger who brought them the text apparently a resident of the Moon has vanished and they are unable to restore communication with him Literary significance editPoe s story had an influence on and is referenced in Jules Verne s From the Earth to the Moon which can be seen as a retelling of the story 5 Verne acknowledged Poe as the creator of the scientific novel when he referred to him as le createur du roman merveilleux scientifique Poe later published a similar hoax The Balloon Hoax in the New York Sun in 1844 See also edit nbsp Novels portalReferences edit Ketterer David Poe s Usage of the Hoax and the Unity of Hans Phaall Criticism vol 13 no 4 1971 pp 377 385 Accessed 29 Nov 2020 Shenoy Gautham Edgar Allan Poe The father of science fiction Factor Daily Retrieved 2020 11 29 Edgar Allan Poe Pioneers Science Fiction National Park Service Retrieved 2020 11 29 Olney Clarke Edgar Allan Poe Science Fiction Pioneer The Georgia Review vol 12 no 4 1958 pp 416 421 JSTOR www jstor org stable 41395580 Accessed 30 Nov 2020 Tretsch John Extra Extra Poe invents science fiction as collected in The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe edited by Kevin J Hayes Cambridge University Press 2002 117 ISBN 0 521 79727 6External links edit nbsp The full text of The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall at Wikisource Publication history and versions of Hans Pfaall Hans Phaall A Tale Southern Literary Messenger Volume 1 Issue 10 June 1835 pp 565 580 nbsp The Works of Edgar Allan Poe Raven Edition Volume 1 public domain audiobook at LibriVox The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaal at Must ReadClassics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall amp oldid 1168620074, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
