French science fiction is a substantial genre within French literature. Arguably dating back further than English science fiction, it remains an active and productive genre which has evolved in conjunction with anglophone science fiction and other French and international literature. French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak other traditional non-French languages. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 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. ... Look up Anglophone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

History

Proto science fiction before Jules Verne

As far back as the 17th century, space exploration and aliens can be found in Cyrano de Bergerac's Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon (1657) and Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle's Entretien sur la Pluralité des Mondes (1686). Voltaire's 1752 short stories Micromégas and Plato's Dream are particularly prophetic of the future directions science fiction would take. (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space by both manned and unmanned spacecraft. ... In popular fiction and conspiracy theories, life forms, especially intelligent life forms, that are of extraterrestrial origin, i. ... Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (March 6, 1619 – July 28, 1655) was a French dramatist and duellist born in Paris, who is now best remembered for the many works of fiction which have been woven around his life story, most notably the play by Edmond Rostand which... Events January 8 - Miles Sindercombe, would-be-assassin of Oliver Cromwell, and his group are captured in London February - Admiral Robert Blake defeats the Spanish West Indian Fleet in a battle over the seizure of Jamaica. ... For other uses of Fontenelle, see Fontenelle (disambiguation). ... 1686 (MDCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... For the sport horse, see Voltaire (horse). ... 1752 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Micromégas is a short story written in the Eighteenth Century by the French philosopher and satirist Voltaire. ...

Also worthy of note are Simon Tyssot de Patot's Voyages et Aventures de Jacques Massé (1710), which features a Lost World, La Vie, Les Aventures et Le Voyage de Groenland du Révérend Père Cordelier Pierre de Mésange (1720), which features a Hollow Earth, Louis-Sébastien Mercier's L'An 2440 (1771), which depicts a future France, and Nicolas-Edmé Restif de la Bretonne's La Découverte Australe par un Homme Volant (1781) notorious for his prophetic inventions. Simon Tyssot de Patot (Born 1655-Died 1727) was a French writer who penned two very important, seminal works in fantastic literature. ... // Events April 10 - The worlds first copyright legislation became effective, Britains Statute of Anne Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) Births January 3 - Richard Gridley, American Revolutionary soldier (d. ... The Lost World literary genre is a fantasy or science fiction genre that involves the discovery of a new world out of time, place, or both. ... // Events January 6 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings February 11 - Sweden and Prussia sign the (2nd Treaty of Stockholm) declaring peace. ... A Hollow Earth theory posits that the planet Earth has a hollow interior and probably a habitable inner surface. ... Louis-Sébastien Mercier (6 June 1740 - 25 April 1814) was a French dramatist and miscellaneous writer. ... Nicolas-Edme Rétif (October 23, 1734 – February 2, 1806), called Rétif de la Bretonne, was a French novelist. ... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Other notable proto-science fiction authors and works of the 18th and 19th century include:

• Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville's Le Dernier Homme (1805) about the Last Man on Earth.
• Historian Félix Bodin's Le Roman de l'Avenir (1834) and Emile Souvestre's Le Monde Tel Qu'il Sera (1846), two novels which try to predict what the next century will be like.
• Louis Geoffroy's Napoleon et la Conquête du Monde (1836), an alternate history of a world conquered by Napoleon.
• C.I. Defontenay's Star ou Psi de Cassiopée (1854), an Olaf Stapledon-like chronicle of an alien world and civilization.
• Astronomer Camille Flammarion's La Pluralité des Mondes Habités (1862) which speculated on extraterrestrial life.

However, modern French science fiction, and arguably science fiction as a whole, begins with Jules Verne, the author of many of the seminal classics of science fiction. Jean-Baptiste François Xavier Cousin De Grainville (Born 1746-Died 1805) was a French writer who penned a very important, seminal work of fantastic literature: Le Dernier Homme (1805). ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Émile Souvestre (April 15, 1806 - July 5, 1854), French novelist was the son of a civil engineer, a native of Morlaix. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Louis Geoffroy (Born 1803-Died 1858) was the pseudonym of Louis-Napoléon Geoffroy-Château, a French writer who penned a one of the earliest works of work of Alternate History: Histoire de la Monarchie universelle: Napoléon et la conquête du monde (1812-1832) [Napoleon And The... Alternate history (fiction) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... William Olaf Stapledon (May 10, 1886 – September 6, 1950) was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction. ... Camille Flammarion Camille Flammarion (February 26, 1842 – June 3, 1925) was a French astronomer and author. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Jules Verne. ...

After Jules Verne

The first few decades of French science fiction produced a stable of renowned names in literature. Not only Jules Verne, but also figures like:

• Louis Boussenard, a successor of Verne.
• Arnould Galopin, creator of Doctor Omega (1906).
• Paul d'Ivoi, author of the Vernian Voyages Excentriques and creator of Pulp heroes Lavarède and Docteur Mystère (1900).
• André Laurie, another successor of Verne.
• Georges Le Faure & Henri de Graffigny, who sent their heroes explore the Solar System in Les Aventures Extraordinaires d'un Savant Russe (1888)
• Gustave Le Rouge, author of Le Prisonnier de la Planète Mars (1908) and Le Mystérieux Docteur Cornélius (1913).
• Albert Robida, a writer and an artist, arguably the "father" of science fiction illustration.
• Maurice Renard, a Wellsian writer, author of Le Docteur Lerne (1908) and Le Péril Bleu (1910)
• J.-H. Rosny aîné, born in Belgium, the father of "modern" French science fiction, a writer also comparable to H. G. Wells, who wrote the classic Les Xipehuz (1887) and La Mort de la Terre (1910).

World War I brought an end to this early period. Where the explosion of science and technology of the late 19th century motivated the optimistic works of these early science fiction authors, the horrors of industrialised warfare and specifically the application of advanced technologies in such a destructive manner soured the French literary community on the potential of technological development. Louis Henri Boussenard (4 October 1847 – 11 September 1911) 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. ... Arnould Galopin (1865-1934) was a prolific French writer with more than 50 novels to his credit. ... Doctor Omega is a fictional character created by French writer Arnould Galopin for his science fiction novel Le Docteur Oméga (1906), visibly inspired by H. G. Wells novels The War of the Worlds and Jules Vernes The First Men in the Moon. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Pulp magazines, often called simply the pulps, were inexpensive text fiction magazines widely published in the 1920s through the 1950s. ... Year 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... Jean François Paschal Grousset (1844 - 1909) was a French politician and journalist. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Albert Robida (1848 - 1926) was an illustrator, etcher, lithographer, caricaturist, and novelist. ... Look up artist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Maurice Renard, French writer born 28 February 1875 à Châlons-sur-Marne, died 18 November 1939 in Rochefort. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... J.-H. Rosny aîné was the pseudonym of Joseph Henri Honoré Boex (February 17, 1856 - February 11, 1940), a French author of Belgian origin who is considered one of the founding figures of modern science fiction. ... Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946), better known as H. G. Wells, was an English writer best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and The Island of Doctor Moreau. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nikolay II Aleksey Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert H. Asquith D. Lloyd George Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna...

Between the two wars, Rosny aîné published his masterpiece Les Navigateurs de l'Infini (1924), in which he coined the word "astronautique". There were few notable new authors during the period: 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ...

• Régis Messac, for Quinzinzinzili (1935).
• José Moselli, for La fin d'Illa (1925).
• Jacques Spitz, for La guerre des mouches (1938).
• René Thévenin for Chasseurs d'Hommes (1930) and Sur l'Autre Face du Monde (1935), the latter under a pseudonym.

1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... Jacques Spitz (1896–1963) was a French novelist. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... A pseudonym (Greek pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons true name. ...

After World War II

Until the late 1950s, relatively little French science fiction was published, and what was published was often very pessimistic about the future of humanity, and frequently was not labelled "science fiction" at all. René Barjavel's Ravage (1943) and Pierre Boulle's Planet of the Apes (1963) are widely known examples. // Recovering from World War II and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ... René Barjavel (January 24, 1911 - November 24, 1985) was a French author, journalist and critic who supposedly was the first to think of the Grandfather paradox. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Pierre Boulle (20 February 1912 – 30 January 1994) was a French novelist. ... This article is about the book. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ...

This period of decline in French science fiction (abbreviated SF) was the golden age of English-language and particularly American science fiction. When French science fiction began reappearing after World War II, it was the themes and styles of anglophone science fiction which served as an inspiration for new works. The first genre magazine, Fiction, at first a translation of F&SF, was launched in 1953. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... F&SF April 1971, special Poul Anderson issue. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

The major genre imprint of the 1950s and 1960s publishing translations of American novels was Le Rayon Fantastique published by Hachette and Gallimard, and edited by George Gallet and Stephen Spriel. Nevertheless, Le Rayon Fantastique helped launch the careers of a number of native authors:

• Francis Carsac
• Philippe Curval
• Daniel Drode
• Michel Jeury (writing under the pseudonym of "Albert Higon")
• Gérard Klein
• Nathalie Henneberg

In 1951, publisher Fleuve Noir launched Anticipation, a paperback imprint devoted mostly to French authors which released as steady stream of pulp-like novels. Among its authors were: François Bordes François Bordes (December 30, 1919 – April 30, 1981), also known by the pen name of Francis Carsac, was a French scientist, geologist, and archaeologist. ... Philippe Tronche (born December 27, 1929) is a French journalist and science fiction writer who uses the pseudonym Philippe Curval. ... Michel Jeury (born 1934) is a French science fiction writer who has also used the pseudonym of Albert Higon. ... Gérard Klein is a French science-fiction writer with sociological training. ... Nathalie Henneberg (1917-1977) was French science fiction writer, a precursor of modern French heroic fantasy. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Flynns Detective Fiction from 1941. ...

• Pierre Barbet
• Richard Bessière
• B.-R. Bruss
• André Caroff
• Jimmy Guieu
• Gérard Klein (writing under the pseudonym of "Gilles d'Argyre")
• Maurice Limat
• André Ruellan (writing under the pseudonym of "Kurt Steiner")
• Louis Thirion
• Stefan Wul

Later, many major names in French science fiction first saw print under that imprint. Pierre Barbet (May 16, 1925 - July 20, 1995) was the main pseudonym used by French science fiction writer Claude Avice. ... Henri René Guieu (March 19, 1926 - January 2, 2000) was a French science fiction author who wrote primarily under the pseudonym Jimmy Guieu He occasionally used other pseudonyms as well, including Claude Vauzière, and Dominique Verseau. ... French science-fiction author Maurice Lamat Maurice Limat (September 23, 1914 - January 23, 2002) was a French author of science-fiction. ... André Ruellan (Born 1922) is a French science fiction and horror writer who has also used the pseudonym of Kurt Steiner, Kurt Wargar and André Louvigny. ... Stefan Wul was the nom de plume of the French science fiction writer Pierre Pairault (27 March 1922 - 26 November 2003). ...

Another imprint, Présence du Futur, was launched in 1954 by publisher Denoël. Among its authors were:

• Jean-Pierre Andrevon
• Jean-Louis Curtis
• Gérard Klein
• Jacques Sternberg
• Jacques Vallee (writing under the pseudonym of "Jérôme Sériel")

Throughout this era, there was very little mainstream critical interest in French SF. French cinema, however, proved a bit more fertile a ground for science fiction. Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 film Alphaville—a thriller and satire on French politics—was the flagship example of French New Wave science fiction. Jean-Pierre Andrevon is a French science fiction author born September 19, 1937. ... Jacques Sternberg (Belgium, April 17, 1923 - ) is a novelist and anthologist of works of science fiction and the fantastique. ... Dr. Allen Hynek (back), and Dr. Jacques Vallee (far right, front) at U.N. General Assembly, 1978. ... Jean-Luc Godard (photograph by David Horvitz) Jean-Luc Godard (born 3 December 1930 in Paris) is a French filmmaker and one of the most influential members of the Nouvelle Vague, or French New Wave. Born in Paris to Franco-Swiss parents, he was educated in Nyon, later studying at... Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution is a 99-minute 1965 science fiction film (dystopia) directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Howard Vernon and Akim Tamiroff. ... A flagship is the ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships. ... New Wave science fiction was characterised by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, and a highbrow and self-consciously literary or artistic sensibility previously comparatively alien to the science fiction aesthetic. ...

In the late 1960s and 1970s, French SF regained some of its lost momentum. Unlike American science fiction, space travel was not the major theme for these post-1968 French authors. A new generation of French writers, who had few memories of the horrors of the past two generations, were inspired by the transformation in France in the post-war era. Especially after May 1968, French SF authors took on political and social themes in their works. Authors like Michel Jeury, Jean-Pierre Andrevon and Philippe Curval began to attract acclaim for their reinvention of a genre which, at the time, was still primarily considered a juvenile entertainment. The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer-Earth objects and generally anything that involves the technologies, science, and politics regarding space endeavors. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... A May 1968 poster: Be young and shut up, with stereotypical silhouette of General de Gaulle. ...

In the 1970s, comics began to play an important role in French SF. Métal Hurlant—the French magazine that spun off Heavy Metal—began pursuing the possibilities of science fiction as a source for comics. Graphic novels are now a major—if not the major—outlet for French science fiction production today. Template:A year The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Comics (or, less commonly, sequential art) is a form of visual art consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the form of speech balloons or image captions. ... Métal Hurlant is the name of a French magazine of science fiction comics, created in December 1974 by Jean Giraud (aka MÅ“bius), Jean-Pierre Dionnet and Philippe Druillet. ... Jean-Michel Nicollets cover for the first issue. ... Comics (or, less commonly, sequential art) is a form of visual art consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the form of speech balloons or image captions. ... Trade paperback of Will Eisners A Contract with God (1978), often mistakenly cited as the first graphic novel. ...

In the 1980s, French authors began to view science fiction as a field for experimental literature. The influence of postmodernism on literature and the arrival of cyberpunk themes catalysed a new body of French SF, near the end of the decade: the Lost Generation (represented by such writers as Claude Ecken, Michel Pagel, Jean-Marc Ligny or Roland C. Wagner) The 1980s refers to the years of and between 1980 and 1989. ... Postmodernism (sometimes abbreviated as Pomo or PoMo) is a term used in a variety of contexts to describe social conditions, movements in the arts, economic and social conditions and scholarship from the perspective that there is a definable and differentiable period after the modern, or that the 20th century can... Berlins Sony Center reflects the global reach of a Japanese corporation. ... Roland Charles Wagner (born 6 September 1960, in Algeria) is a French writer of humorous science fiction. ...

At present, French SF is particularly well represented in graphic novels, and a number of titles reach print annually. As in most of the developed world, magazine culture has declined dramatically, but a number of French SF magazines remain in print, including Bifrost, Galaxies and Solaris. Despite the space opera revival of the beginning of the 1990s (Ayerdhal, Serge Lehman, Pierre Bordage, Laurent Genefort) the influence from English language science fiction and movies has considerably diminished since the Lost Generation, while the influence of animation, video games and other international science fiction traditions (German, Italian) has increased. The role of Japanese manga and anime has also been particularly noticeable in recent years, but not in literature. Graphic novel (sometimes abbreviated GN) is a term for a kind of book, usually telling an extended story with sequential art ( comics). ... Solaris was founded in 1974 in Longueuil (Québec) by Norbert Spehner, Solaris is the oldest French-language Science-fiction and Fantasy magazine in the world. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Manga )   (pl. ... The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) For the oleo-resin, see Animé (oleo-resin). ...

Other notable French science fiction authors post-World War II

• G.-J. Arnaud
• Ayerdhal
• Pierre Bordage
• Serge Brussolo
• Richard Canal
• Maurice G. Dantec
• Michel Demuth
• Sylvie Denis
• Dominique Douay
• Jean-Claude Dunyach
• Claude Ecken
• Jean-Pierre Fontana
• Yves Fremion
• Laurent Genefort
• Philippe Goy
• Johan Héliot
• Joël Houssin
• Emmanuel Jouanne
• Serge Lehman
• Jean-Marc Ligny
• Xavier Mauméjean
• Michel Pagel
• Pierre Pelot (writing under the pseudonym of "Pierre Suragne")
• Julia Verlanger (writing under the pseudonym of "Gilles Thomas")
• Élisabeth Vonarburg
• Roland C. Wagner
• Daniel Walther
• Bernard Werber
• Joëlle Wintrebert

Georges-Jean Arnaud (born July 3, 1928) is a French author. ... Ayerdhal, a French science fiction writer, was born 1959 in France. ... Pierre Bordage (born January 1955, La Réorthe, Vendée, France) is a French science fiction author. ... Serge Brussolo, a French writer, was born May 31, 1951. ... Richard Canal (born August 16, 1953) is a French science fiction writer who won the Prix Rosny-Aîné twice. ... Maurice Georges Dantec, or Maurice G. Dantec, (born 1959) is a French science fiction author. ... Jean-Claude Dunyach (born 1957) is a French science fiction writer. ... Claude Ecken : French science fiction writer. ... Yves Fremion (born 1940) is a French author and former editor of the French science fiction magazine Univers. ... Laurent Genefort is a French science fiction writer. ... Philippe Goy (1941 - ) is a French science fiction writer. ... Emmanuel Jouanne (born 1960 in Caen) is a French science fiction writer who won the Prix Rosny-Aîné twice. ... Xavier Mauméjean is a French writer born in 1963. ... Pierre Pelot (Pierre Grosdemange, also known as Pierre Pelot, Pierre Suragne or Pierre Carbonari), French science fiction author. ... Gilles Thomas and Julia Verlanger are pseudonyms of the female French science fiction writer whose real name was Héliane Taïeb, maiden name Grimaître (December 7, 1929 – September 3, 1985). ... Élisabeth Vonarburg is a French science-fiction writer. ... Roland Charles Wagner (born 6 September 1960, in Algeria) is a French writer of humorous science fiction. ... Bernard Werber (born September 18, 1961 in Toulouse) is the most famous French writer of science fiction of the 1990s and 2000s. ...

Literary awards

The Prix Rosny-Aîné is an annual award for French-language science fiction. The Prix Rosny-Aîné is a literary prize for French science fiction. ...

Other Awards for French-language science fiction (non exclusively) include or have includes the Prix Apollo (1972-1990), the Prix Bob Morane (1999- ), the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire (1974- ), the Prix Julia Verlanger (1986- ), the Prix Jules Verne (1927-1933; 1958-1963), the Prix Ozone (1977-2000) and the Prix Tour Eiffel (1997-2002).

References

Source: Some of the information contained in this article was excerpted from:

See also

• Science fiction
• Category:French science fiction writers
• French literature
• Fantastique
• Category:French fantasy writers

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. ... French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak other traditional non-French languages. ... Fantastique is a French term for a literary and cinematic genre that overlaps with parts of science fiction, horror and fantasy. ...

External links

• Régis Messac : see the french page