Imaginary History
Imaginary History
Imaginary histories usually occur in either historical fiction or in alternative or speculative history. They often occur in response to the hypothetical “What would have happened if...?”
The History of Ballooning in Antiquity
ERNEST CHAPUISARD
London: Chambers, 1900.
First mentioned in the Mozchar catalogue.
Chapuisard was a distinguished Professor at the French school in Bucharest, where he taught Classics. He became convinced that the ancient Greeks had discovered aeronautics in the form of ballooning, having reasoned that any philosopher watching the action of hot air beneath a woman’s lightweight skirt would surely have worked out the basic principles well in advance of Montgolfier. He finally reached the conclusion that Odysseus’ ship was not a bateau but an aérostat.
The Gospel of Citizen Jesus
L’Evangile du Citoyen Jésus, purgé des idées aristocrates et royalistes et ramené aux vrais principes de la raison, par un bon sans-culotte.
JOSEPH LEBON
Arras: Du Rhin, an III de la République une et indivisible.
First mentioned in the Fortsas Sale Catalogue.
An example of the unique library of Jean Népomucène Auguste Pichauld, Comte de Fortsas, the legendary collector of singular books. The mighty collectors’ club in Paris bears his name, and they also bear a grudge against the author, as this book is the only book of the Fortsas collection not in their possession, and it is a property that members of the club have, I regret to relate, repeatedly attempted to steal.
Poictesme in Song and Legend
GOTTFRIED JOHANNES BÜLG
Strasbourg: n.p., 1786-89. This is a reprint of the two volume Strasbourg edition of 1796.
First mentioned in James Branch Cabell’s The Silver Stallion.
The definitive collection of the legends of the medieval province of Poictesme. Dr. Bülg is sometimes blamed for permitting accretions to the standard corpus without acknowledging their origins, but his magisterial work remains the standard by which any editor of these wonderful stories will be judged.
An Abbreviated History of English Poetry
Histoire Abrégée de la Poésie Anglaise
HUMBERT HUMBERT
Paris: Le Seuil, 1947.
First mentioned in Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.
This concise history of English poetry is intended specifically for francophone students and certainly represents the least offensive of Professor Humbert’s various endeavors, although some of his choices in it are just as unorthodox and questionable as was his relationship with his young protégée.
The Metaphysics of Lying
Metaphisique de menteries
M. LE MARÉCHAL DE RETS
Paris: Léopold Colon [sic], n.d.
First mentioned in the Bibliothèque de Madame de Montpensier.
A book of surprising advice on how to lie effectively. Its directions are so clever that it is difficult to question its sincerity, although it appears in many ways to be a satire on the notorious reputation of Gilles de Rais (“the greatest liar at Court”) more than a true manual of deception. Nevertheless, the current owner of the book has received quite astonishing offers for it from the very highest levels of government.
The whole Pedigree of the King of Kandidee, with that of his famous horse, Znorto
ANONYMOUS
New York: Harper’s, 1976.
First mentioned in Hermann Melville’s Mardi, in the library of Oh-Oh.
An ancient chronicle of unknown origin. Its title indicates, however, that the King was of some extraordinary lineage, and that his love for his equine companion outswapped that of any other monarch. His horse Znorto was both a breeding stallion and a hapax legomenon.
On the Polyphonic Motets of Lassus
SHERLOCK HOLMES
Original Manuscript, 1910-13.
First mention in Watson, “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans.”
Holmes’ notes and first draft of his masterly commentary on Lassus’ motets, along with his edited copies of many of the pieces, were assembled in his working cahier, stamped above and below with his barely-to-be-seen title and name.
Later printed (1914) for private circulation.
Holmes’ work on the Prophetiae Sibyllarum is Especially acute. When Crook said they were, “probably the most analyzed piece of Renaissance music...,” he was certainly thinking of Holmes’ exhaustive analysis.