Information About

Edisonade




They were targeted at young boys in cheaply-printed Dime Novel s.

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 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), an unauthorized sequel (in the form of a revenge fantasy) to Wells's '' The War Of The Worlds ''. 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 Pseudonym s 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:

  • ---#"Electric Bob and His White Alligator; or, Hunting for Confederate Treasure in the Mississippi River"

  • ---#"Electric Bob's Big Black Ostrich; or, Lost on the Desert"

  • ---#"Electric Bob's Revenue Hawk; or, the Young Inventor among the Moonshiners"

  • ---#"Electric Bob's Big Bicycle; or, the Nerviest Boy in the World"

  • ---#"Electric Bob's Sea-Cat; or, the Daring Invasion of Death Valley"



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