Louis Henri Boussenard
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | '''[[Adventure]] fiction''' is a genre of fiction that usually presents [[danger]], or gives the reader a sense of excitement. | ||
| - | == History == | + | '''Louis Henri Boussenard''' (4 October 1847, [[Escrennes]], [[Loiret]] – 11 September 1910 in [[Orléans]]) was a French author of [[adventure novel]]s, dubbed "the French [[Henry Rider Haggard|Rider Haggard]]" during his lifetime, but better known today in [[Eastern Europe]] than in Francophone countries. As a measure of his popularity, 40 volumes of his collected works were published in [[Imperial Russia]] in 1911. |
| - | Don D'Ammassa argues that adventure stories make the element of danger the focus; hence he argues that | + | |
| - | [[Charles Dickens]]'s novel ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'' is an adventure novel because the protagonists are in constant danger of being imprisoned or killed, whereas Dickens's ''[[Great Expectations]]'' is not because "Pip's encounter with the convict is an adventure, but that scene is only a device to advance the main plot, which is not truly an adventure." | + | |
| - | Adventure has been a common [[theme (literature)|theme]] since the earliest days of written fiction. Indeed, the standard plot of [[Romance (heroic literature)|Medieval romance]]s was a series of adventures. Following a plot framework as old as [[Heliodorus of Emesa|Heliodorus]], and so durable as to be still alive in [[Adventure film|Hollywood movies]], a [[hero]] would undergo a first set of adventures before he met his lady. A separation would follow, with a second set of adventures leading to a final reunion. | + | A physician by profession, Boussenard travelled throughout the French colonies, especially in [[Africa]]. He was drafted during the [[Franco-Prussian War]] but soon capitulated to the Prussian soldiers, a bitter experience that could explain a nationalist flavour present in many of his novels. Some of his books demonstrate a certain prejudice against Britons and Americans, a fact which likely contributed to his obscurity and lack of translations in the English-speaking world. |
| - | Variations kept the genre alive. From the mid-19th century onwards, when mass literacy grew, adventure became a popular subgenre of fiction. Although not exploited to its fullest, adventure has seen many changes over the years – from being constrained to stories of knights in armor to stories of high-tech espionages. | + | The author's picaresque humour flourished in his earliest books, ''À travers Australie: Les dix millions de l'Opossum rouge'' (1879),<ref>[https://archive.org/details/cihm_04177 A travers l'Australie] [microforme] : Boussenard, Louis, 1847-1910 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive</ref> ''Le tour du monde d'un gamin de Paris'' (1880), ''Les Robinsons de la Guyane'' (1882), ''Aventures périlleuses de trois Français au pays des diamants'' (1884, set in a mysterious cavern underneath the [[Victoria Falls, Zambia|Victoria Falls]]), ''The Crusoes of Guyana; or, The White Tiger'' (1885),<ref>[https://archive.org/details/cihm_04177 archive.org]</ref> and ''Les étrangleurs du Bengale'' (1901).<ref>[https://archive.org/details/cihm_75930 archive.org]</ref> |
| - | Examples of that period include [[Sir Walter Scott]], [[Alexandre Dumas, père]], [[Jules Verne]], [[Brontë Sisters]], [[H. Rider Haggard]], [[Victor Hugo]], [[Emilio Salgari]], [[Louis Henri Boussenard]], [[Thomas Mayne Reid]], [[Sax Rohmer]], [[Edgar Wallace]], and [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]. | + | Boussenard's best-known book ''Le Capitaine Casse-Cou'' (1901) was set at the time of the [[Second Boer War|Boer War]]. ''L'île en feu'' (1898) fictionalized [[Cuba]]'s struggle for independence. Aspiring to emulate [[Jules Verne]], Boussenard also turned out several [[science fiction]] novels, notably ''Les secrets de monsieur Synthèse'' (1888) and ''Dix mille ans dans un bloc de glace'' (1890), both translated by [[Brian Stableford]] in 2013 under the title ''Monsieur Synthesis'' {{ISBN|978-1-61227-161-3}} |
| - | Adventure [[novel]]s and [[short stories]] were popular subjects for American [[pulp magazine]]s, which dominated | ||
| - | American popular fiction between the [[Progressive Era]] and the 1950s. Several pulp magazines such | ||
| - | as ''[[Adventure (magazine)|Adventure]]'', ''[[Argosy (magazine)|Argosy]]'', ''[[Blue Book (magazine)|Blue Book]]'', ''[[Top-Notch Magazine|Top-Notch]]'', and ''[[Short Stories (magazine)|Short Stories]]'' specialized in this genre. Notable pulp adventure writers included [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]], [[Talbot Mundy]], [[Theodore Roscoe]], [[Johnston McCulley]], [[Arthur O. Friel]], [[Harold Lamb]], [[Carl Richard Jacobi|Carl Jacobi]], [[George F. Worts]], [[Georges Surdez]], [[H. Bedford-Jones]], and [[J. Allan Dunn]]. | ||
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| - | Adventure fiction often overlaps with other genres, notably [[war novel]]s, [[crime novel]]s, [[sea story|sea stories]], [[Robinsonade]]s, [[spy stories]] (as in the works of [[John Buchan]], [[Eric Ambler]] and [[Ian Fleming]]), [[science fiction]], [[fantasy]], | ||
| - | ([[Robert E. Howard]] and [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] both combined the [[secondary world]] story with the adventure novel) and [[Western fiction|Western]]s. Not all books within these genres are adventures. Adventure fiction takes the setting and premise of these other genres, but the fast-paced plot of an adventure focuses on the actions of the hero within the setting. With a few notable exceptions (such as [[Baroness Orczy]], [[Leigh Brackett]] and [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]) adventure fiction as a genre has been largely dominated by male writers, though female writers are now becoming common. | ||
| - | |||
| - | ==See also== | ||
| - | *[[Lost world (genre)]] | ||
| - | * [[Men's adventure]], also known as ''[[the sweats]]'', a [[genre fiction|genre]] of [[pulp magazine]] featuring tales of exotic adventure and [[war]]time [[hero]]ism. | ||
| - | *[[Nautical fiction]] | ||
| - | *[[Picaresque novel]] | ||
| - | *[[Robinsonade]] | ||
| - | *[[Subterranean fiction]] | ||
| - | *[[Spy fiction]] | ||
| - | *[[Swashbuckler]] | ||
| - | *[[Thriller (genre)]] | ||
| - | * ''[[True History]]'' by Lucian of Samosata | ||
| - | * [[Travel literature]] | ||
| - | * [[War novel]] | ||
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Louis Henri Boussenard (4 October 1847, Escrennes, Loiret – 11 September 1910 in Orléans) was a French author of adventure novels, dubbed "the French Rider Haggard" during his lifetime, but better known today in Eastern Europe than in Francophone countries. As a measure of his popularity, 40 volumes of his collected works were published in Imperial Russia in 1911.
A physician by profession, Boussenard travelled throughout the French colonies, especially in Africa. He was drafted during the Franco-Prussian War but soon capitulated to the Prussian soldiers, a bitter experience that could explain a nationalist flavour present in many of his novels. Some of his books demonstrate a certain prejudice against Britons and Americans, a fact which likely contributed to his obscurity and lack of translations in the English-speaking world.
The author's picaresque humour flourished in his earliest books, À travers Australie: Les dix millions de l'Opossum rouge (1879),<ref>A travers l'Australie [microforme] : Boussenard, Louis, 1847-1910 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive</ref> Le tour du monde d'un gamin de Paris (1880), Les Robinsons de la Guyane (1882), Aventures périlleuses de trois Français au pays des diamants (1884, set in a mysterious cavern underneath the Victoria Falls), The Crusoes of Guyana; or, The White Tiger (1885),<ref>archive.org</ref> and Les étrangleurs du Bengale (1901).<ref>archive.org</ref>
Boussenard's best-known book Le Capitaine Casse-Cou (1901) was set at the time of the Boer War. L'île en feu (1898) fictionalized Cuba's struggle for independence. Aspiring to emulate Jules Verne, Boussenard also turned out several science fiction novels, notably Les secrets de monsieur Synthèse (1888) and Dix mille ans dans un bloc de glace (1890), both translated by Brian Stableford in 2013 under the title Monsieur Synthesis Template:ISBN
