Edward Page Mitchell (1852–1927)
Author of The Crystal Man: Landmark Science Fiction
About the Author
Image credit: Edward Page Mitchell, filtered in a painterly style from a book portrait
Works by Edward Page Mitchell
Omul de cristal 2 copies
Memoirs of an editor 2 copies
El hombre de cristal 2 copies
The Tachypomp The Soul Spectroscope 2 copies
The Senator's Dghter 1 copy
The Ablest Man In The World 1 copy
Collected stories 1 copy
El reloj que retrocedía 1 copy
The Man Without A Body 1 copy
The Legendary Ship 1 copy
Tales of Science 1 copy
Tales of Fantasy 1 copy
Tales of Terror 1 copy
The Balloon Tree 1 copy
The Flying Weathercock 1 copy
The Story Of The Deluge 1 copy
The Professor's Experiment 1 copy
The Inside Of The Earth 1 copy
An Uncommon Sort Of Spectre 1 copy
The Cave Of The Splurgles 1 copy
The Devil's Funeral 1 copy
The Wonderful Corot 1 copy
The Pain Epicures 1 copy
A Day Among The Liars 1 copy
Our War With Onaco 1 copy
The Devilish Rat 1 copy
Exchanging Their Souls 1 copy
An Extraordinary Wedding 1 copy
Back Fro That Bourne 1 copy
The Case Of The Dow Twins 1 copy
Associated Works
Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century (1981) — Contributor — 136 copies
Frankenstein Dreams: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Science Fiction (The Connoisseur's Collections) (2017) — Contributor — 61 copies
Beyond Time: Classic Tales of Time Unwound (British Library Science Fiction Classics) (2019) — Contributor — 30 copies
Scientific Romance: An International Anthology of Pioneering Science Fiction (2016) — Contributor — 16 copies
Flora Curiosa: Cryptobotany, Mysterious Fungi, Sentient Trees, and Deadly Plants in Classic Science Fiction and Fantasy (2008) — Contributor — 6 copies
Representative American Short Stories — Contributor — 5 copies
About Time: The Forerunners of Time Travel and Temporal Anomalies in Science Fiction and Fantasy (2008) — Contributor — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Mitchell, Edward Page
- Birthdate
- 1852-03-24
- Date of death
- 1927-01-22
- Burial location
- Glen Ridge, New Jersey, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Bath, Maine, USA
- Place of death
- New London, Connecticut, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Tar River, North Carolina, USA - Occupations
- journalist
editor
short story writer - Relationships
- Mitchell, Burroughs (son)
Members
Reviews
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 46
- Also by
- 22
- Members
- 93
- Popularity
- #200,859
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 6
- ISBNs
- 9
- Languages
- 3
The Crystal Man is only notable (aside from its potential historical significance) because its single twist, most of these tales have only a single twist near the end mind you, is just weird depending on the lone female character dumping the invisible man because he’s a freak thus prompting his suicide. The Balloon Tree is just weird, a group of men track through the jungle in the hopes of discovering a semi-mythical tree and one becomes lost only to lose consciousness and wake up back at the beach with his comrades who had given up the search and hope. Together they see the balloon tree floating away off in the distance.
The Facts in the Ratcliffe Case involves some lady with a poisonous or drugging gaze but the real centerpiece here is a scene in an 1880’s medical theater involving an old woman’s calcified knee, utterly gross but definitely worth the read. I truly wish all of these stories had a scene like that; they would have been much improved. An Uncommon Sort of Spectre is definitely interesting and deals with a strange conversation about the logistics of ghosts from the future. The Case of the Dow Twins was readable, it was okay overall and involves a mysterious spiritual/mental link between a good and evil twin type thing. An Extraordinary Wedding was definitely interesting with its single twist at the very end and made for a fun a little capper to this odd story involving spirit mediums and an art exhibit.
What I really did not like about this book was the tedious introductory essay. The Biographical Perspective by Sam Moskowitz was 63 pages long and really did not have much to do with Edward Page Mitchell until the last dozen pages only mentioning him briefly at the beginning and about halfway through. It was very uninteresting throwing out names and dates rapid-fire style especially near the beginning. To be honest, you can skip it unless you really, really have to know some basic details about Edward Page Mitchell and the place his work occupies in the bigger picture of early American science fiction according to Moskowitz.
I would not really recommend this book but for maybe experiencing the roots of science fiction and weird tales. However, The Facts in the Ratcliffe Case should be read just to experience that medical theater scene which is more akin to a straight gothic horror tale. Was it worth reading in the first place? I think so. It definitely felt different from most things I’ve read but that could be due to the stories’ origin as 100-year old newspaper filler.… (more)