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French science fiction is a substantial genre of French literature. It remains an active and productive genre which has evolved in conjunction with anglophone science fiction and other French and international literature.
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 of science fiction.
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) known for his prophetic inventions.
Other notable proto-science fiction authors and works of the 18th and 19th century include:
However, modern French science fiction, and arguably science fiction as a whole, begins with Jules Verne (1828–1905), the author of many of the classics of science fiction.
The first few decades of French science fiction produced several renowned names of literature. Not only Jules Verne, but also:
After H. G. Wells' The Time Machine was translated into French by Henry D. Davray in 1895 as the first of his works, succeeded soon by other translations of his stories, [1] influencing French science fiction writers such as Maurice Renard.
World War I brought an end to this early period. While the rapid development of science and technology during the late 19th century motivated the optimistic works of early science fiction authors, the horrors of industrialised warfare and specifically the application of advanced technologies in such a destructive manner made many later French authors more pessimistic about the potential of technological development.
Between the two world wars, Rosny aîné published his masterpiece Les Navigateurs de l'Infini (1924), in which he invented the word "astronautique". There were a few notable new authors during the period:
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 was frequently not advertised as "science fiction" at all. René Barjavel's Ravage (1943) and Pierre Boulle's Planet of the Apes (1963) are examples well known.
This period of decrease of French science fiction (abbreviated SF) is considered by many to be a "golden age" of English-language and particularly American science fiction. When French science fiction began reappearing strongly 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 the American Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction – began appearing during 1953.
The major genre imprint of the 1950s and '60s 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 begin the careers of a number of French authors:
During 1951, publisher Fleuve Noir initiated Anticipation, a paperback series devoted mostly to French authors which released a steady series of pulp-like novels. Among its authors were:
Later, many major names of French science fiction were printed first by that company.
Another series, Présence du Futur, was initiated during 1954 by publisher Denoël. Among its authors were:
During this era, there was very little mainstream critical interest for French SF. French cinema, however, proved to be more successful for science fiction. Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 movie Alphaville —- a thriller and satire of French politics—- was the first major example of French "New Wave" science fiction.
Unlike American science fiction, space travel was not the major theme for the 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 of France during the post-war era. Especially after May 1968, French SF authors wrote about political and social themes in their works. Authors like Michel Jeury, Jean-Pierre Andrevon and Philippe Curval began to attract acclaim for their redevelopment of a genre which, at the time, was still considered primarily a juvenile entertainment.
During the 1970s, comics began to be important for French SF. Métal hurlant —- the French magazine that was imitated as the American magazine Heavy Metal –- began developing the possibilities of science fiction as a source for cartoons. Graphic novels are now a major— if not the major— outlet for French science fiction production today.
During the 1980s, French authors began to consider science fiction as appropriate for experimental literature. The influence of postmodernism on literature and the development of cyberpunk themes catalysed a new body of French SF, near the end of the decade: the so-called "Lost Generation" (represented by such writers as Claude Ecken, Michel Pagel, Jean-Marc Ligny or Roland C. Wagner)
At present, French SF is particularly well represented by graphic novels, and a number of titles are printed annually. As in most of the developed world, magazine culture has decreased dramatically because of the internet, 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 diminished considerably since the "Lost Generation", while the influence of animation, video games and other international science fiction traditions (German, Italian) has increased. The influence of Japanese manga and anime has also been particularly noticeable during recent years for graphic formats.
The Prix Rosny-Aîné is an annual award for French-language 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).
French literature generally speaking, is 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 traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in the French language by citizens of other nations such as Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, etc. is referred to as Francophone literature.
J.-H. Rosny aîné was the pen name of Joseph Henri Honoré Boex, a Belgian author considered one of the founding figures of modern science fiction.
The Prix Rosny-Aîné is a literary prize for French science fiction. It has been awarded annually since 1980 in two categories: best novel and best short fiction.
The Voyages extraordinaires is a collection or sequence of novels and short stories by the French writer Jules Verne.
Brian Michael Stableford was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but later ones dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford. He also used the pseudonym Brian Craig for some of his very early and late works. The pseudonym derives from the first names of himself and of a school friend from the 1960s, Craig A. Mackintosh, with whom he jointly published some very early work.
Dr. Ox's Experiment is a humorous science fiction short story by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1872. It describes an experiment by one Dr. Ox, and is inspired by the real or alleged effects of oxygen on living things.
Jean de La Hire was a prolific French author of numerous popular adventure, science fiction and romance novels.
Richard Canal is a French author and screenwriter in the science-fiction, fantasy, mainstream and thriller genres.
Emmanuel Jouanne was a French science fiction writer who won the Prix Rosny-Aîné twice. His first novel came out in 1982. He has collaborated with Yves Fremion on a series of political science fiction and was a member of a writer group called "Limite." He is also noted in France for translations of R. A. Lafferty and Philip K. Dick.
Jean-Pierre Hubert was a science fiction and detective fiction author. He won the Prix Rosny-Aîné several times and has been reviewed by Locus (magazine).
Joëlle Wintrebert is a French writer. She primarily writes science fiction, but also writes children's literature and journalism. She has won the Prix Rosny-Aîné three times, first in 1980. She also edited the anthology series Univers.
Alain Le Bussy was a prolific Belgian author of science fiction who won the Prix Rosny-Aîné in 1993 for his novel Deltas. He died on 14 October 2010 from complications following throat surgery.
Johan Heliot is the pseudonym used by Stéphane Boillot-Cousin, a French science fiction writer. He is known for imaginative stories and has also written juvenile literature. One of his stories was translated into English for The Mammoth Book of New Jules Verne Adventures.
Catherine Dufour in Paris, is a French novelist, short story writer and computer scientist. She writes fantasy and science fiction.
Sylvie Denis is a French science fiction writer. She is also a translator and co-edited the magazine "Cyberdreams."
The grand prix de l'Imaginaire, until 1992 the grand prix de la science-fiction française, is a French literary award for speculative fiction, established in 1972 by the writer Jean-Pierre Fontana as part of the science fiction convention of Clermont-Ferrand.
Jules Verne (1828–1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. Most famous for his novel sequence, the Voyages Extraordinaires, Verne also wrote assorted short stories, plays, miscellaneous novels, essays, and poetry. His works are notable for their profound influence on science fiction and on surrealism, their innovative use of modernist literary techniques such as self-reflexivity, and their complex combination of positivist and romantic ideologies.
Paul-Jean Hérault, pseudonym of Michel Rigaud, was a French writer and journalist.
Merveilleux scientifique is a literary genre that developed in France from the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. Akin today to science fiction, this literature of scientific imagination revolves around key themes such as mad scientists and their extraordinary inventions, lost worlds, exploration of the solar system, catastrophes and the advent of supermen.
Estelle Faye began her career as a French actor and screenwriter. Since 2009 she has been best known as a science fiction and fantasy author, where her novels and short stories have won several awards.
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