249:, and related matters.) These highly advanced ancients developed a matter transmitter in their distant past, and used it to travel back and forth between the pyramids of Egypt and Central America; in the process they sometimes found themselves on Venus, apparently due to interference with the similar matter transmitter technology of the Thotheen. The latter are the dominant indigenous species of the planet; Jane both describes and draws Thotheen as a cross between a small
216:
meets a young, dark-skinned woman called Miss
Zumeena. The young woman invites him to tea at her summer house, which is, oddly, full of machinery. A few seconds later, she informs the young Englishman that he is now on Venus. The machinery in Zumeena's gazebo operates a matter transmitter that allows almost instantaneous transport between the two planets.
260:
Some of the
Central-American/Egyptians settled on Venus to form a growing human community; they often served as physicians to the Thotheen. At the time of Plummer's arrival on Venus, the long co-existence between the two species is breaking down; Zumeena predicts that conflict will soon erupt between
272:
Plummer meets two other
English people on Venus, a young woman named Phyllis Alson and a clergyman. He and Phyllis quickly fall in love; the convenient clergyman marries them. War breaks out, first a civil war among the Thotheen and then the conflict between the Thotheen and Sutenraa anticipated by
215:
The hero of Jane's story is a superb physical specimen of
English manhood named Thomas Plummer. He is being sent to medical school by his father, a medical entrepreneur (pill manufacturer), despite the fact that the younger Plummer is — well — not very bright. At medical school Plummer
277:. There, Plummer finds one of his father's agents stenciling an advertisement in white paint. The young English couple return home, while Zumeena goes south to become a "goddess" for some primitive people. This is a reference to another popular subgenre of Victorian fantastic fiction, the "
236:
Closer to the Sun than Earth, Venus is hot and jungle-covered; the glare of the Sun both blinds the eyes and affects the mind. The planet is inhabited by two developed species, the human
Sutenraa and the decidedly non-human Thotheen. Zumeena is a Sutenraa, a people from
169:. When he turned to writing his own novels, Jane parodied the types of fiction he illustrated—what were then called "scientific romances," and the novels of future war that were such a characteristic feature of popular literature in Britain in the decades before
265:, because of his excellent physique. Zumeena has taken a fancy to him, though; she makes romantic advances to him, which he spurns. She reluctantly consigns him to vivisection, though she allows him the option of
223:
for interplanetary travel" in science fiction. Jane does not spend much effort on explaining how a matter transmitter might actually work; the technology is merely a given, like the titular device in
299:
245:, which are closely related in Jane's imaginary domain. (This incorporates another subgenre of fantastic fiction of Jane's era, books on Egypt, the
273:
Zumeena. Plummer and
Phyllis escape to Earth with Zumeena (the clergyman is by now dead) via matter transmitter; they land on the pinnacle of the
261:
them, which the
Thotheen will win due to their superior intelligence. Plummer also learns that he has been brought to Venus as a subject for
157:
In one aspect of his multifarious career, Jane spent much of the 1890s illustrating popular novels of speculative fiction, including
437:
203:
297:
has been called "The most readable and entertaining of Jane's books". Jane wrote other works of speculative fiction, notably
432:
447:
427:
452:
287:
175:
143:
191:
185:(1894). The title of Jane's book both pokes fun and alludes to other works of romances of travel like
442:
138:
122:
To Venus in Five
Seconds: An Account of the Strange Disappearance of Thomas Plummer, Pillmaker
274:
8:
64:
151:
147:
84:
388:
282:
229:
238:
197:
166:
126:
60:
421:
404:
242:
220:
181:
158:
133:
30:
262:
224:
186:
170:
278:
266:
154:
that had become popular in the final years of the nineteenth century.
254:
103:
250:
246:
192:
From The Earth To The Moon, Direct Course In 97 Hours 20 Minutes
129:
56:
351:
Sources of
Science Fiction: Future War Novels of the 1890s
150:, the novel pokes fun at several of the main subgenres of
411:, Kent, Ohio, Kent State University Press, 1990; p. 392.
219:(This constitutes "One of the earliest uses of the
323:Patrick Brantlinger and William B. Thesing, eds.,
142:and the founder of what would in time become the
419:
327:, London, Blackwell, 2002; pp. 117–154, 370–384.
393:Scientific Romance in Britain 1890–1950
377:The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
366:, London, Octopus Books, 1978; pp. 24–26.
338:The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana
420:
395:, London, Fourth Estate, 1985; p. 130.
340:, Austin, TX, Monkeybrain Books, 2005.
353:, London, Taylor & Francis, 1998.
349:George Locke and Takayuki Tatsumi,
13:
379:, London, Pan Books, 1977; p. 156.
325:A Companion to the Victorian Novel
14:
464:
409:Science-Fiction: The Early Years
291:(1886) and its many imitations.
364:Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
204:Around The World In Eighty Days
438:British science fiction novels
398:
382:
369:
356:
343:
330:
317:
281:" or "lost race" stories like
207:(1873), and their imitations.
1:
310:
136:, the author of the original
7:
433:1897 science fiction novels
210:
176:The Angel of the Revolution
10:
469:
16:1897 novel by Fred T. Jane
110:
98:
90:
78:
70:
52:
44:
36:
26:
22:To Venus in Five Seconds
295:To Venus in Five Seconds
144:Jane's Information Group
362:Robert Holdstock, ed.,
173:—books like Griffith's
407:with Richard Bleiler,
163:Hartmann the Anarchist
275:Great Pyramid of Giza
139:Jane's Fighting Ships
165:(1893) and books by
448:Novels set on Venus
428:1897 British novels
65:Speculative fiction
23:
453:Planetary romances
405:Everett F. Bleiler
300:The Incubated Girl
221:matter transmitter
152:scientific romance
21:
118:
117:
91:Publication place
460:
443:Satirical novels
412:
402:
396:
389:Brian Stableford
386:
380:
373:
367:
360:
354:
347:
341:
334:
328:
321:
305:The Violet Flame
283:H. Rider Haggard
230:The Time Machine
80:Publication date
24:
20:
468:
467:
463:
462:
461:
459:
458:
457:
418:
417:
416:
415:
403:
399:
387:
383:
374:
370:
361:
357:
348:
344:
335:
331:
322:
318:
313:
239:Central America
213:
198:Around The Moon
167:George Griffith
146:. Published in
127:science fiction
99:Media type
81:
63:
61:Science fiction
59:
17:
12:
11:
5:
466:
456:
455:
450:
445:
440:
435:
430:
414:
413:
397:
381:
368:
355:
342:
329:
315:
314:
312:
309:
212:
209:
116:
115:
112:
108:
107:
100:
96:
95:
94:United Kingdom
92:
88:
87:
82:
79:
76:
75:
72:
68:
67:
54:
50:
49:
46:
42:
41:
38:
34:
33:
28:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
465:
454:
451:
449:
446:
444:
441:
439:
436:
434:
431:
429:
426:
425:
423:
410:
406:
401:
394:
390:
385:
378:
372:
365:
359:
352:
346:
339:
336:Jess Nevins,
333:
326:
320:
316:
308:
306:
302:
301:
296:
292:
290:
289:
284:
280:
276:
270:
268:
264:
258:
256:
252:
248:
244:
243:ancient Egypt
240:
234:
232:
231:
226:
222:
217:
208:
206:
205:
200:
199:
194:
193:
188:
184:
183:
182:Olga Romanoff
178:
177:
172:
168:
164:
160:
159:Edgar Fawcett
155:
153:
149:
145:
141:
140:
135:
131:
128:
124:
123:
113:
109:
105:
101:
97:
93:
89:
86:
83:
77:
73:
69:
66:
62:
58:
55:
51:
47:
43:
39:
35:
32:
29:
25:
19:
408:
400:
392:
384:
376:
371:
363:
358:
350:
345:
337:
332:
324:
319:
304:
298:
294:
293:
286:
271:
259:
253:and a large
235:
228:
218:
214:
202:
196:
190:
180:
174:
162:
156:
137:
134:Fred T. Jane
121:
120:
119:
40:Fred T. Jane
31:Fred T. Jane
18:
375:Brian Ash,
303:(1896) and
263:vivisection
225:H. G. Wells
187:Jules Verne
179:(1893) and
171:World War I
132:written by
74:A. D. Innes
37:Illustrator
422:Categories
311:References
279:lost world
267:anesthesia
233:of 1895.)
255:horse-fly
104:Hardcover
71:Publisher
307:(1899).
251:elephant
247:pyramids
211:Synopsis
201:(1870),
195:(1865),
45:Language
114:130 pp.
102:Print (
48:English
130:satire
57:Satire
27:Author
125:is a
111:Pages
53:Genre
241:via
148:1897
85:1897
288:She
285:'s
189:'s
161:'s
424::
391:,
269:.
257:.
227:'
106:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.