Cyrano de Bergerac

[Albatros]

Greetings,

I wonder who is familiar with the works of the 17th Century French writer Cyrano de Bergerac, specifically the States and Empires of the Moon and the States and Empires of the Sun. It is fantastic reading for anyone who is interested in science fiction, philosophy, the history of science or indeed anyone who enjoys satirical travel stories. It is also among the earliest great works of science fiction and was a huge influence on some great writers, most obviously Jonathan Swift (you can certainly note similarities in Gulliver’s Travels). Despite all this no one I know seems to have read any of his work, indeed the only one who has is the person who compelled me to read it in the first place.

Which brings me to the questions: Are any of you familiar with Cyrano and have you read any of his books? What did you think of them?

Thanks,
Albatros.

[wreade1872]

Greetings,

I wonder who is familiar with the works of the 17th Century French writer Cyrano de Bergerac, specifically the States and Empires of the Moon and the States and Empires of the Sun. It is fantastic reading for anyone who is interested in science fiction, philosophy, the history of science or indeed anyone who enjoys satirical travel stories. It is also among the earliest great works of science fiction and was a huge influence on some great writers, most obviously Jonathan Swift (you can certainly note similarities in Gulliver’s Travels). Despite all this no one I know seems to have read any of his work, indeed the only one who has is the person who compelled me to read it in the first place.

Which brings me to the questions: Are any of you familiar with Cyrano and have you read any of his books? What did you think of them?

Thanks,
Albatros.

I've read that one, i got a copy from https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/cyrano_de_bergerac/ so not sure how good the translation was or anything.
This is what i wrote about it on goodreads and my reading log on boards.ie.
"I thought this was a comedy and expected something like the satire of Gulliver's Travels. However while there is some of that, there is far more focus on scientific and philosophical discussions. Its a little hard to understand in places but the ideas discussed are really interesting".

However i preferred the not dissimilar 'The Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World' (1666) by Duchess Margaret Cavendish.

I read both as part of my 'things referenced in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novels' reading list.

Also as i say in my brief review i don't think its as close to 'Gulliver's Travels' as i was expecting. For works like Gulliver i'd rather recommend:
Voyage to Cacklogallinia by Samuel Brunt (1727)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16202/16202-h/16202-h.htm

Niels Klim's Underground Travels by Ludvig Holberg (1741)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27884/27884-h/27884-h.htm

Or Riallaro : the archipelago of exiles by Godfrey Sweven (1901)
https://archive.org/details/riallaroarchipel00swev

[byquist]

Thanks for tip. Didn't know he actually wrote, except for spontaneous poetry -- once played him in Rostand's play and am still foggy about knowing that he actually existed as a real person and that he has a real history and authorship.