C. I. Defontenay

C.I. Defontenay (1814-1856) was the pseudonym of French science fiction writer Charlemagne Ischir Defontenay. Defontenay's 1854 "Star, ou Psi Cassiopea" is seen by some as an example of proto-space opera. [http://www.strangewords.com/star.html] Others see Defontenay as a predecessor of Olaf Stapledon. "Star" describes the discovery in the Himalayas of a stone that has fallen from the sky. After opening it, it turns out to contain a metal box where the narrator finds some paper manuscripts. After two years of study, he managed to decipher them and finds out that they describe the alien societies of various humanoid races living in the constellation of Cassiopeia.

Defontenay's other accomplishments included being a pioneer in plastic surgery. He was a disciple of Fourier and Hoffman. His writings often display his philosophical kinship with those thinkers.

References and links

*The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
* [http://www.blackcoatpress.com/star.htm Publishers picture and brief information on the book]
* [http://muse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/access.cgi?uri=/journals/diacritics/v029/29.2winthrop-young.html&session=23470217 Project MUSE, restricted Access]
* [http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/14/angenot14art.htm Science Fiction studies article]