The Martian

The Martian

"The Martian", by George du Maurier, published in 1898 (UK edition) is a thick (471 pages) largely autobiographical novel that tells about the lives of two bosom friends, Barty Josselin and Robert Maurice, starting from their school age days in Paris in the 1850’s. Written like a narrative with very scarce dialogues and many digressions, the book had considerably less success in its time than the popular "Trilby".

Literary significance & criticism

Of a rather loose construction, its main points of interest lie for today’s readers in lively descriptions of "la vie de bohême" and different parts of Paris through the second half of the 19th century, pages on Mechelen in Belgium and Whitby in the 1870’s, and its superb illustrations.As in Trilby, we find the recurrent theme of antisemitism, but less so.What is new in it is the use of swedenborgianism ("...to the most sceptical he has restored that absolute conviction of an indestructible germ of Immortality within us, born of remembrance made perfect and complete after dissolution: he alone has built the golden bridge in the middle of which science and faith can shake hands..." (p.385)) and hints at eugenism. In fact the "Martian" is none other than an illustration of an entity that undergoes successive reincarnations "ad infinitum", and the theme mingles with the life of Barty and his offspring in the second half of the novel, starting with the beginning of his loss of eyesight and his consultation of a reputed ophthalmologist in Düsseldorf, which is a genuine autobiographical piece of writing from du Maurier. Barty's and his wife Leah's moral, intellectual and, in a way that is obsessional in the novel, physical perfection, will evolve into even more perfect children to build a more perfect race of beings, which is nothing short of eugenism ("And to whom but Barty Josselin do we owe it that our race is on an average already from four to six inches taller than it was thirty years ago, men and women alike; that strength and beauty are rapidly becoming the rule among us, and weakness and ugliness the exception?" (p.386)).

ee also

* David Lodge's biographical novel, "Author, Author" (2004), which tells about the life of Henry James but is also largely about George du Maurier, who was James' close friend.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Martian — Pays d’origine Détroit  États Unis Genre musical Techno de Detroit Années d activité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Martian Chronicles —   …   Wikipedia

  • The Martian Way — Author Isaac Asimov Country United States Language English Genre(s) Science fiction novella …   Wikipedia

  • The Martian War — The Martian War: A Thrilling Eyewitness Account of the Recent Invasion As Reported by Mr. H.G. Wells is a 2006 science fiction novel by Kevin J. Anderson (under his Gabriel Mesta pseudonym). It is a retelling of H.G. Wells The War of the Worlds ; …   Wikipedia

  • The Martian Child — is a novelette by David Gerrold. It won the 1995 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, Locus Award and HOMer Award and the 1994 Nebula Award for Best Novelette, and was nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon award for best short fiction.The original… …   Wikipedia

  • The Martian Chronicles (TV miniseries) — Infobox television show name = The Martian Chronicles caption = Title card from the first episode format = Science fiction Adventure runtime = 120 min writer = Richard Matheson director = Michael Anderson starring = Rock Hudson Roddy McDowall… …   Wikipedia

  • The Martian General's Daughter — infobox Book | name = The Martian General s Daughter title orig = translator = image caption = Daw Books edition author = Theodore Judson illustrator = cover artist = country = United States language = English series = genre = Science fiction… …   Wikipedia

  • The Martian Child — In diesem Artikel oder Abschnitt fehlen folgende wichtige Informationen: Vollständige Handlung Du kannst Wikipedia helfen, indem du sie recherchierst und einfügst …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • The Martian Way and Other Stories — Infobox Book name = The Martian Way and Other Stories title orig = translator = image caption = dust jacket from the first edition author = Isaac Asimov illustrator = cover artist = country = United States language = English series = genre =… …   Wikipedia

  • The Martian Way — La Voie martienne Cet article fait partie de la série Science fiction La SF à l’écran autre A B C …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”