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Le Vingtième Siècle
Leather Binding on Spine and Corners with Golden Leaf Printing on round Spine (extra customization on request like complete leather, Golden Screen printing in Front, Color Leather, Colored book etc.) Reprinted in 2018 with the help of original edition published long back [1884]. This book is printed in black & white, sewing binding for longer life, printed on high quality Paper, re-sized as per Current standards, professionally processed without changing its contents. As these are old books, we processed each page manually and make them readable but in some cases some pages which are blur or missing or black spots. If it is multi volume set, then it is only single volume, if you wish to order a specific or all the volumes you may contact us. We expect that you will understand our compulsion in these books. We found this book important for the readers who want to know more about our old treasure so we brought it back to the shelves. Hope you will like it and give your comments and suggestions. - French, Pages 538. EXTRA 10 DAYS APART FROM THE NORMAL SHIPPING PERIOD WILL BE REQUIRED FOR LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. COMPLETE LEATHER WILL COST YOU EXTRA US$ 25 APART FROM THE LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. {FOLIO EDITION IS ALSO AVAILABLE.} Complete Le vingtième siècle, texte et dessins par A. Robida. 1884 Robida, Albert, -.
514 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1882
About the author
Albert Robida
253 books7 followersFrench illustrator, etcher, lithographer, caricaturist, and novelist.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 21, 2013
I am convinced by reading this novel - and before that The Adventures of Saturnin Farandoul and The Twentieth Century - that Albert Robida has a unique wit bordering on genius and is a grandmaster of satire.
What's amazing about Electric Life is that he seems to be able to satirize life in our day and age from a vantage point of a century ago.
What's amazing about Electric Life is that he seems to be able to satirize life in our day and age from a vantage point of a century ago.
August 21, 2011
Jules Verne is often viewed as one of the creators of the genre of Science Fiction, but there is another French author who is mistakenly overlooked for his contributions. Albert Robida produced the incredible “Le Vingtième Siecle” (“The Twentieth Century”) which was published in 1883. Robida’s future is full of wonderful inventions and predictions, some of which are very accurate (tourism, pollution, etc.) and some of which were nowhere near the mark. Also included are Robida’s illustrations, and Robida is, perhaps, the first SF artist. Regardless, Robida’s imagination is a good partner for Verne’s Voyages Extrodinaires which Verne attempted to keep well grounded in what was definitely possible.
This edition of “The Twentieth Century” by Albert Robida from Wesleyan University Press is the First English Edition of the book, and as far as I am concerned is the best of their “Early Classics of Science Fiction” series thus far. The eleventh book in this excellent series brings together an exciting and interesting work which has never had an English Translation before with a superb introduction and supporting documentation that make this a real five-star effort. I have loved this series from the start, so it was certainly not a given that this would be the best of the first eleven books in the series.
“The Twentieth Century” opens in the year 1952 and is focused on Hélène Colobry, the niece of banker Raphael Ponto. The story follows Hélène’s search for what she wants to do, with her uncle pushing her in different directions. Not surprisingly, a key factor in the story is the environment, and Robida envisions some wondrous technology and some massive political and societal changes in the seventy years between when he wrote the work and when it takes place.
Among the predictions which amaze are: the world becoming media saturated, with news and entertainment merging and advertisements dominating broadcasts. He was a bit early in his prediction, but it is continuing to become more and more accurate. The tunnel under the British Channel is a very specific prediction which also came true later. Telecommunications are another prediction, though not as bold since the Telephone was in existence at the time, just nowhere near as predominate as Robida makes it, and Robida does predict the merging and homogenizing of cultures, as well as the dominance of multinational corporations.
Predictions that have yet to come true are the total equality of women in the workplace, and of course Robida’s political predictions are very far out there, with the Chinese taking half the U.S., and Germany the other half, with a Mormon state squeezed between the two. He also has Italy turning into an amusement park, and other large changes as well. Oddly enough he does predict the Chinese civil war, but given the rest of his predictions are so far off it is difficult to give him much credit for that. Nevertheless, his attempts are an early example of including politics in an SF novel.
All in all, this is a wonderful example of early science fiction, from an author who is largely unknown to those who do not read French. Philippe Willems contributes an excellent introduction as well as a superb translation. One can only hope that Wesleyan uses the same team to provide an English translation of “La Guerre au Vingtième Siècle” (1887) and “Le Vingtième Siècle. La Vie Électrique” (1890) which would add tremendously to both the series as well as the awareness of Robida’s works. No doubt about this book, it is definitely a five-star effort.
This edition of “The Twentieth Century” by Albert Robida from Wesleyan University Press is the First English Edition of the book, and as far as I am concerned is the best of their “Early Classics of Science Fiction” series thus far. The eleventh book in this excellent series brings together an exciting and interesting work which has never had an English Translation before with a superb introduction and supporting documentation that make this a real five-star effort. I have loved this series from the start, so it was certainly not a given that this would be the best of the first eleven books in the series.
“The Twentieth Century” opens in the year 1952 and is focused on Hélène Colobry, the niece of banker Raphael Ponto. The story follows Hélène’s search for what she wants to do, with her uncle pushing her in different directions. Not surprisingly, a key factor in the story is the environment, and Robida envisions some wondrous technology and some massive political and societal changes in the seventy years between when he wrote the work and when it takes place.
Among the predictions which amaze are: the world becoming media saturated, with news and entertainment merging and advertisements dominating broadcasts. He was a bit early in his prediction, but it is continuing to become more and more accurate. The tunnel under the British Channel is a very specific prediction which also came true later. Telecommunications are another prediction, though not as bold since the Telephone was in existence at the time, just nowhere near as predominate as Robida makes it, and Robida does predict the merging and homogenizing of cultures, as well as the dominance of multinational corporations.
Predictions that have yet to come true are the total equality of women in the workplace, and of course Robida’s political predictions are very far out there, with the Chinese taking half the U.S., and Germany the other half, with a Mormon state squeezed between the two. He also has Italy turning into an amusement park, and other large changes as well. Oddly enough he does predict the Chinese civil war, but given the rest of his predictions are so far off it is difficult to give him much credit for that. Nevertheless, his attempts are an early example of including politics in an SF novel.
All in all, this is a wonderful example of early science fiction, from an author who is largely unknown to those who do not read French. Philippe Willems contributes an excellent introduction as well as a superb translation. One can only hope that Wesleyan uses the same team to provide an English translation of “La Guerre au Vingtième Siècle” (1887) and “Le Vingtième Siècle. La Vie Électrique” (1890) which would add tremendously to both the series as well as the awareness of Robida’s works. No doubt about this book, it is definitely a five-star effort.
December 21, 2015
Излюбленный жанр старины — прогностикация с нравственным уклоном. Любовно-бытовой роман с предсказаниями. Как-то так. Сатира у Робидо, понятно, беззуба, но теперь, по крайней мере, мы знаем, у кого списан «Незнайка на Луне». Прогнозы почти все сбылись (кроме лекарства от всех болезней, пожалуй), так что тут тоже все не очень занимательно. Читается, как нормальный исторический роман из жизни 1950-х годов, разве что с некоторым прибабахом. Спасают от полного забвенья него разве что ебанутая евгеника (непохоже, чтобы в этой части у него была сатира), ну и картинки, конечно, симпатичные. Древний перевод вполне конгруэнтен.
March 30, 2013
Oh my god. He saw the future and it is us.
Don’t get me wrong – the writing is typical sentimental Victorian pulp (i.e. VERY family friendly) and there isn’t much of a “plot” per sey, but give me a minute to pick my jaw up off the floor after reading how accurately Robida predicted gender equality, the 24 hour news cycle, advertising, transportation, and the importance of career orientated education.
He gets most of the geo-politics wrong, but the absurdness goes well with his fantastical drawings.
September 22, 2018
An almost eerie representation of the 1950s as speculated in the 1880s. That said, if anyone thinks Verne is a weak storyteller, they should compare him with Robida, whose plot here is little more than a huge info dump, at times tedious to wade through. Full review to come...
November 13, 2019
Voir mon article
"Le Vingtième Siècle" d'Albert Robida, une fantaisie scientifique in S. DORE (ed.), « De jadis à demain, voyages dans l’œuvre d’Albert Robida », Musée Antoine Vivenel, Compiègne, 2009
http://www.academia.edu/attachments/4...
"Le Vingtième Siècle" d'Albert Robida, une fantaisie scientifique in S. DORE (ed.), « De jadis à demain, voyages dans l’œuvre d’Albert Robida », Musée Antoine Vivenel, Compiègne, 2009
http://www.academia.edu/attachments/4...
June 19, 2017
(18 Juin, 2017)
Ordinaire comme histoire, un peu plus intéressant comme commentaire sur les normes sociétales du temps. Ce qui m'a dérangé le plus est le fait qu'on connait la femme de Monsieur Lorris seulement sous le nom de 'Madame Lorris'.
Ordinaire comme histoire, un peu plus intéressant comme commentaire sur les normes sociétales du temps. Ce qui m'a dérangé le plus est le fait qu'on connait la femme de Monsieur Lorris seulement sous le nom de 'Madame Lorris'.
August 22, 2008
Interesting book, there was certainly more science fiction/fantasy in this book then in most books by Jules Verne.
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November 27, 2018Read for French 220
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews