Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder (Bakka Books) [Paperback]

James De Mille (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bakka Books | Publication Date: April 1, 2001

Very much the product of its time, Canada's first science fiction novel recounts the strange adventures of a sailer cast ashore among a race of cannibals who regard death as the greatest blessing they can bestow. Part swashbuckling adventure, part love story and part examination of accepted values turned inside out, this novel is important both as a landmark in the development of Canadian science fiction and as a captivating piece of literature. A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder was originally published in London, England, by Chatto & Windus in 1888. In America, the story was serialized in Harper's and subsequently published by Harper Brothers late the same year. It was republished in Canada by McClelland & Stewart in 1969.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A professor of rhetoric and history, James de Mille established Canada's oldest university department of English at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, in 1866.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Insomniac Press (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1895837960
• ISBN-13: 978-1895837964
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,338,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Canada's Orwell, January 11, 2003

By 

Nina (Ottawa, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder (Bakka Books) (Paperback)

If you like Animal Farm, 1984, Brave New World and other "creepy society" books, you'll love this one. Four intellectuals find a..., well, a strange manuscript, in a... copper cylinder, yeah. It is the account of a man's discovery of a literally "backwards" civilization where the social pyramid is inverted : people strive to be poor, and the wealthiest citizens are considered bums. Life here is torture, because the ultimate goal of every person is to die. Pick up this book to be intrigued and fascinated.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventure and satire, together again!, September 2, 2011

By 

Señor Spook "Spooky B" (Charlottetown, PEI, CANADA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder (Bakka Books) (Paperback)

"A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder" is proof positive that Canadian science fiction has a proper history... and it's pretty great! It also amply displays the diversity of Canadian fiction in general, this time in the form of a multifaceted, multi-layered adventure tale that owes as much to Jonathan Swift as it does to Edgar Allan Poe.

The story, laid bare, is pretty standard pulp fare: a stranded sailer, Adam More, must thread his way through a bleak, volcanic Antarctic wasteland until emerging at the south pole, and into the wondrous realm of the Kosekins. At first, all seems well; the people are selfless, loving, helpful and friendly to a fault. He meets a lovely lass who becomes the story's requisite Love Interest. Things quickly fall apart from there as deep, dark cultural motivations float to the surface and our hero must mount a pterodactyl in order to save his life (and the life of his lady-love). Meanwhile, colour commentary is provided by four bored, rich chappies who've recovered the titular cylinder bobbing in the waves alongside their yacht, becalmed in the south seas.

That's not the whole story by a long shot, but you get the gist.

The book is arguably author James De Mille's finest moment, a pretty good time throughout and it's an utter shame he didn't live to see it published. If he'd only gotten off his duff and published it sooner -- never mind his dissatisfaction with the ending -- he'd be more widely remembered as a genuine literary innovator instead of an also-ran in the Lost World genre. As it stands, the work continues to entertain and even appears to have influenced 20th century horror master, H.P. Lovecraft, who apparently kept a copy in his own personal library (see S.T. Joshi's Lovecraft's Library: A Catalogue (Revised and Enlarged) for further details).

Despite the book's public domain nature and freely available status, I highly recommend the out-of-print Bakka Books edition which includes all of the original illustrations by artist Gilbert Gaul, along with an entertaining, enlightening forward by Canadian author Ed Greenwood.

UPDATE (JANUARY 20, 2012): Also consider the recently released Broadview Press edition of A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder, since it also contains the original Gilbert Gaul illustrations, along with a wealth of scholarly materials concerning author James De Mille and his strange, entertaining little book.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent, July 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder (Science Fiction) (Hardcover)

I actually picked up this book on accident - I had no idea what it was about nor had I ever heard of it. A wonderful masterpiece on society and cultutre, it includes much symbolism. The book makes us question what is truth -