The Pleasures of a Futuroscope [Paperback]

Lord Dunsany (Author), S. T. Joshi (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2005

Lord Dunsany, Irish master of fantasy, was the author of more than a dozen novels, hundreds of short stories, poems, and essays, and dozens of plays. And yet, his last major work, The Pleasures of a Futuroscope, has remained unpublished until this edition. In this powerful and moving novel, written in 1955, a futuroscope--a device that allows a viewer to see into the near or distant future--reveals an awful fate for humanity: a nuclear holocaust has destroyed nearly all human life on the planet. The great city of London is now merely an immense crater, filled in with water from the Thames. The pitiful remnants of humanity have been reduced to a Stone Age existence. The narrator, obsessively looking through the futuroscope, focuses upon the plight of a single family in their struggles to survive and fend off the many enemies, both animal and human, that surround them. When one of their number is kidnapped by a band of gypsies, we can only wonder at her fate in this brave new world of the distant future. Gripping, horrifying, touching, and fascinating, The Pleasures of a Futuroscope shows that Lord Dunsany retained his literary powers undiminished to the end of his life.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Apparently written in 1955, this last novel by Irish fantasist Dunsany (1878-1955) doesn't rank with such early masterpieces as The King of Elfland's Daughter, but it offers its own rewards. Methery, the inventor of the futuroscope, a device that allows one to view the future, first appeared in one of Dunsany's Jorkens stories, "The Two-Way War." Here the unnamed narrator, a retired English journalist, borrows Methery's futuroscope simply for fun, as the title suggests. In a set-up that anticipates today's "reality" TV, the narrator watches a family 500 years in the future as they cope with the aftermath of a nuclear strike on London, regularly noting his breaks in the present for dinner, teatime and bedtime. Dunsany's descriptions of sylvan beauty are as lovely as anything he ever wrote, but some readers may find the elegant exposition, with its long paragraphs and sparse dialogue, too old-fashioned. This restrained apocalyptic novel, warning of the dangers of technology, will likely win over only established fans. Joshi's illuminating introduction is a plus.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) was the author of The Gods of Pegana (1905), A Dreamer's Tales (1910), and many other volumes that have made him a legend in the realm of fantasy. Such novels as The King of Elfland's Daughter (1924) and The Blessing of Pan (1927) cemented his reputation. In The Curse of the Wise Woman (1933) and later works, he drew upon the people and heritage of his native Ireland, while such plays as The Gods of the Mountain (1911) and The Queen's Enemies (1916) commanded the British and American stage for decades.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Hippocampus Press (August 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976159287
• ISBN-13: 978-0976159285
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,069,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fitting end to a writing career, May 18, 2004

By 

Michael R. Broschat "mrbroschat" (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pleasures of a Futuroscope (Hardcover)

Dunsany (pronounced "dune-SANE-y") started publishing just after the turn into the 20th century. He began with poetry, then moved to plays (stimulated by a challenge from WB Yeats), short stories, and-in 1922-his first novel. Don Rodriguez is a romance that takes place several hundred years ago. Futuroscope is a romance that takes place several hundred years from now. The manuscript for this book was discovered only a couple years ago, long after the author's death in 1957.

The story is that our author-the narrator-has had loan of a marvelous device by a rather disinterested inventor. This device works much like a television set, the difference being that it sees into the future. And with two dials (completely analog, of course), you can adjust where the 'scope is looking and at what time in the future. The narrator warns that the pictures gets dim too much after the time of this story (about 2600 AD), so don't build your hopes too high. The narrator decides to concentrate on the area right around where he lives (in Kent, England), and casts about to see what time period looks interesting. He soon sees what appears to be a nuclear holocaust, and centuries of devastation. Gradually, life comes back, and-strangely enough-it is just like life probably was about 5,000 years ago. Fortunately for us (and the narrator), English is still spoken. Eventually, he finds a small family living within a mile of where he the narrator currently lives, and he follows their lives for a few weeks. This exercise completely captivates him, and his own life becomes simply an observation of some future events, events not exactly unromantic and unadventurous. Some things never change.

Dunsany's point is a life-long point (he would die a couple years after writing this book)-the modern age (symbolized by metal in this book) has robbed man of his true happiness. Not exactly a rare point of view among Brits (and, especially, those with titles), but no less ardently felt for being shared.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars None of the reviews below relate to the book., January 31, 2004

By 

Turner Morgan "turnermorgan" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Pleasures of a Futuroscope (Hardcover)

I believe I had this read to me when I was young, and remember very much enjoying it- the synopsis supplied in the item description seems to mesh with my recollections. I know it was SOME Dunsany that I haven't been able to find, and time-travel seemed to play into it... However, I distinctly look forward to reading it and discovering that it's still not a Lovecraft book. I imagine the confusion of reviews happened because the editor is very well-known for editing Lovecraft anthologies and miscellania.