"Edisonade" is a now-archaic term for stories from the Victorian and Edwardian eras that would now be classified as science fiction. Similar terms include scientific romances and Voyages Extraordinaires. The term is an eponym, named after famous inventor Thomas Edison, formed in the same way the term "Robinsonade" was formed from Robinson Crusoe. These stories usually featured brilliant and eccentric young inventors and their amazing inventions, and the adventures they would get into with the invention. Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, June 20, 1837) gave her name to the historic era. ... The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It is sometimes extended to include the period to the start of World War I in 1914 or even the end of the war in 1918. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Scientific romance is an archaic name for what is now known as the Science Fiction genre. ... Les Voyages Extraordinaires (The Extraordinary Voyages in English) was a publishing title affixed to the novels, fictional and non-fictional, of French author and Science Fiction pioneer Jules Verne. ... An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, whose name has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ... Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many important devices. ... Robinsonade is a literary genre that takes its name from the 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe. ... Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719 and sometimes regarded as the first novel in English. ...

They were targeted at young boys in cheaply-printed dime novels. In the United States in the late 19th century and very early 20th century, a dime novel was a low-priced novel, typically priced at 10 cents (a dime). ...

It should be noted that a common theme in Edisonades was the confrontation of "savage," non-white tribes, and their subsequent and somewhat casual slaughter by the Caucasian hero and/or his inventions.

Examples

• The earliest example of the genre is considered to be "The Huge Hunter, or the Steam Man of the Prairies" by Edward S. Ellis (1868), featuring fictional inventor Johnny Brainerd.

The whole story can be downloaded here: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/7506

• The original Tom Swift series of novels are the best known example of the genre.

• Thomas Edison himself was the main character in Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Serviss (1898). Another real and famous inventor to appear in one of the stories was Nikola Tesla in To Mars With Tesla; or, the Mystery of Hidden World.

• A series of stories featuring "Tom Edison, Jr." by Philip Reade were published between 1891 and 1892.

• The Frank Reade series first appeared in 1876, written by Harold Cohen (1854-1927) under the pseudonyms Harry Enton and "Noname."

• The Jack Wright series was created by Luis Senarens. He first appeared in 1891, and was the subject of 121 stories.

• Five stories about the Edisonade character named Electric Bob were published in 1893, written by Robert T. Toombs, which added a touch of wittiness and oddity to the genre. These stories are:

1. Electric Bob and His White Alligator; or, Hunting for Confederate Treasure in the Mississippi River (1893) A Tom Swift book from the fourth series. ... A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to their legal name (whereas an allonym is the name of another actual person assumed by one person in authorship of a work of art; e. ...

2. Electric Bob's Big Black Ostrich; or, Lost on the Desert (1893)

3. Electric Bob's Revenue Hawk; or, the Young Inventor among the Moonshiners (1893)

4. Electric Bob's Big Bicycle; or, the Nerviest Boy in the World (1893)

5. Electric Bob's Sea-Cat; or, the Daring Invasion of Death Valley (1893)