The Brick Moon and Other Stories

by Edward Everett Hale

Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909) was an American author and Unitarian minister. After graduating from Harvard Hale was pastor of several churches before becoming the chaplain of the U S Senate. His most famous novel was "The Man Without a Country" (1863), which strengthened the Union cause in the North. Hale employed a minute realism, which led his readers to suppose his narratives were factual. Stories in this collection include The brick moon -- Crusoe in New York -- Bread on the waters -- The lost palace -- 99 Linwood Street -- Ideals -- Thanksgiving at the polls - and The survivor's story

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1899

About the author

More than one hundred fifty literary works of Unitarian cleric and writer Edward Everett Hale, younger brother of fellow American writer Lucretia Peabody Hale, include the story The Man without a Country .

This American author, historian, and child prodigy exhibited extraordinary literary skills; Harvard University enrolled him at 13 years of age, and he graduated second in his class. Hale went to write for a variety of publications and periodicals throughout his lifetime.

He fathered author Edward Everett Hale Jr..

Reviews

[Wreade1872 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Survivors Story [2/5] see Updates for others.

That was pretty good collection. The title story isn't really sci-fi although it does start off as a sort of knockoff of Earth to the Moon but ultimately, like several of the stories, its actually just a social commentary.

A number of the tales are about the benefits of a close-knit social group over the larger society. There's also a good bit of humour here and there and some really dark humour in two of stories. The final story the Survivors Story is actually quite experimental too.

I like the style of writing also but it can be a bit confusing at times due to the age of the stories. First half of the collection was better than the second IMO too.

Four christmas stories and a thanksgiving one if your looking for something seasonal.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of interesting and unusual short works.

The title story, "The Brick Moon", from 1869, is the first appearance in fiction of the idea of an artificial satellite, in this case for ships to use as a navigation reference. I'm reasonably sure the proposal, even if the launch had gone as planned, would not have worked, because the satellites wouldn't remain on the north-south line that they were launched on; the earth would turn underneath them, and so, given that the proposal is to launch multiple satellites so that there's always one visible (as is done today with GPS), sailors would have needed a way to distinguish which brick moon they were looking at if they wanted to work out their longitude.

But the story isn't really about that. It's about, first, the coming together of the plan by a group of old college chums with various abilities to contribute, including the one who can persuade audiences without seeming to be eloquent, who helps them raise the necessary funds. Secondly, it's about the building of the first moon - out of brick, as the title suggests - and the flywheels to launch it. And finally, it's about what happens when it's launched accidentally with people in it, since a number of the members of the group and their families are living there temporarily because the brick spheres that make up the larger sphere are quite comfortable. They get flung into space, improbably not turned into jam by the sudden acceleration (which doesn't even wake them up, even more improbably, let alone fling disconnected bricks over a wide area, which is what would probably happen in reality), improbably manage to hold onto their atmosphere through the gravity of their tiny moon, improbably discover that their corn and chickens are evolving into other useful crops and livestock for an unspecified reason - though the several children later born there seem to be normal, as far as is mentioned - and, perhaps most improbably of all, form a utopian society and don't wish to return. It's a historical curiosity rather than a credible piece of science fiction, in other words, but it's pleasantly told for all that.

The author's narrative style is capable of pulling off some unpromising subjects, in fact, and making them engaging. The next story is "Crusoe in New York"; a young carpenter named Robinson Crusoe, asked to fence in a vacant lot, figures out that he could hide a cottage there for himself and his mother, and builds one, proceeding to squat there for 12 years. It brings in a number of elements of the original Crusoe story, but transformed: a footprint in the dirt, "savages" (rough men of New York), and a young Swedish woman named Frida instead of Friday were the ones I spotted, but I'm sure if I had read the original book and not just absorbed bits of it by cultural osmosis I'd have seen some more. The author's note indicates that whole passages are lifted verbatim from Defoe. It's odd that a man so opposed to slavery apparently loved Robinson Crusoe, but people are complicated.

"Bread on the Waters" is a Christmas story, and so of course sentimental, but in a way I personally found moving. An honest and blameless civil servant has to prove that he didn't embezzle some money he disbursed during the Civil War, but the receipts have gone missing, and his family and friends search for them frantically. As the title implies, an old kindness eventually comes back to him.

"The Lost Palace" is a tall tale of sorts, about a group of railwaymen who calculate that they can jump a gorge instead of going the long way round. The "palace" of the title is a Pullman "palace car" or luxury sleeper carriage.

"99 Linwood Street" is another Christmas story, in which multiple kind people come together to help a young Irish immigrant find her brother at the address of the title, which is harder than it sounds when there are multiple Linwood Streets and nearly 100 people with the same name as him. I was moved by this one also.

"Ideals" reuses some characters from "The Brick Moon" and refers briefly to it, but is mainly about four couples, close friends, who get fed up with the weather and the political situation where they live in the US and decide to try living in Mexico. There's a gentle twist at the end.

"One Cent" confused me a bit. The main character drops the change out of his pocket in the dark and a one-cent piece rolls under a table, unbeknown to him. He later gets roughly ejected from a streetcar as a bum because he's a cent short of the fare. While this is happening, letters are on the way to him honouring him for his contributions to his field (ceramics manufacture) and offering him large sums of money. He seems to think that there's a lesson there somewhere, but I couldn't find it; the two things had no causal connection. Perhaps the lesson is that you can't judge someone because they don't happen to have money at the time? It's told in an odd mix of narrative and play format.

"Thanksgiving at the Polls" is the story of a newspaper reporter who decides to save money, and time walking to work, by temporarily living in a street polling booth put up for upcoming elections. He takes in some Jewish refugees from Russia to live there with him (the tone is the opposite of antisemitic, which is a nice change from a lot of older books), and through various charitable institutions and gifts from employers they end up with more food than they need for the Thanksgiving holiday and go looking for people to share it with. There's a theme of "we could look after the poor better, all year round" running through the whole story.

"The Survivor's Story" is clearly inspired by Chaucer; four couples (this seems to be a thing with Hale, and I assume reflects his actual friend circle) come together at Christmas away from home and tell each other stories. There's an odd ending, which suggests he didn't know how to end it properly, and is out of keeping with the general tone.

In what is, strictly speaking, original research, Hale's Wikipedia article notes (at time of review) "Hale was active in raising the tone of American life for half a century." I can well believe it. His stories are humane, kindly and warm - although people do die in them for no particular reason sometimes - and their manner is more important than their matter. They remind me of Mark Twain in their style, although without Twain's occasional cynicism and misanthropy.

Recommended, and I would read more Hale.

[Estott · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea of a mid 19th C. inhabited artificial satellite is fascinating, but Hale is too preoccupied with technical details to make this anything more than a curiosity. On top of that the technology is ridiculous, but it doesn't matter because Hale is very tongue in cheek. Worth a look as a curiosity.

Some of the other stories in the book are rather better. "Crusoe in New York" has a narrator who has become homeless. While wandering about he discovers a forgotten scrap of land hidden behind a building. Concealing the entrance behind some boards he then scavenges materials and proceeds to build himself a tiny but snug hidden dwelling.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wildly inconsistent. The titular story is mostly of interest as a historic relic of speculative fiction (indeed, it's why I read the collection.) The Lost Palace is pretty fun, again speculative fiction but very near-term. Sort of like Stephenson in that regard. Most of the others are Christmas or Thanksgiving stories roughly equivalent to This Year's Christmas TV Special, overtly emotional (even manipulative, although not effectively so) and very forgettable. Of these, Thanksgiving at the Polls is at least amusing, and any Bostonian will get a kick out of the plot device in 99 Linwood Street.

[Steph Bennion · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sought this out because of the story 'The Brick Moon', which is an early tale about the creation of an artificial satellite (for navigation purposes) which ends up being accidentally launched with people aboard. The science is very dated, but imaginative for the time. The other stories are entertaining in their own way, though all suffered from rather abrupt endings. My favourite was '99 Linwood Street', a cute fable about how the people of Boston rallied around to help a lost traveller. I obtained this free ebook from Project Gutenberg.

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

You have to give credit where credit is due, because it was the first story of its kind; however, it was so poorly carried off that, that is where the admiration ends. Only read this if you are a die hard science fiction fan, and you truly wish to delve into the roots of the genre.

[Nancy Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit slow, but a good mix of Alice of life stories.

[Alistair Bascom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Brick Moon and Other Stories – Edward E. Hale

French Translation

L’histoire commence avec un groupe d’étudiants de l’Université Harvard discutant de l’astronomie dans les années 1840. On réfléchit à la façon dont l’Étoile du Nord est utilisée par les marins pour calculer la latitude. Ils se rendent tous compte qu’il n’y a pas d’objet dans tous les cieux qui est considéré pour le calcul de la longitude. Un étudiant dit en riant qu’ils devraient essayer de construire une lune de briques et de la lancer en orbite. À ce stade, ils laissent tomber le sujet et se dispersent.
George Orutt étant l’un des étudiants ayant maintenant vieilli et étant venu sur une grande fortune en tant que riche magnat des chemins de fer. C’était après la guerre civile, et Orcutt a voulu faire une expérience de leur discussion de jeunesse. Il a fait appel aux autres présents à la naissance de la considération de la Lune de Brique. Les membres d’origine maintenant cultivés étaient Orutt lui-même, qui a mis une partie pour le coût de construction; Ben Brannan, qui était un orateur merveilleux et qui par son a fourni l’entreprise avec de plus grandes contributions de bien faire des personnages intéressés. Le capitaine Frederic Ingham, en tant que ministre du gouvernement, a pu se procurer pour que l’entreprise dispose d’un site utile consacré à la construction.
Ils fabruraient les briques et utilisaient la puissance thermique de la vapeur, pour transformer le grand volant qui propulserait la Lune de briques vers le ciel en orbite. Le chantier isolé, réchauffé par la douce lueur de lune par une nuit endormie. Le tout dans le sommeil joyeux et la lune de brique, étant 200 pieds de diamètre était sur le rail. Quelques-uns dans le sommeil à l’intérieur de la Lune de briques viendrait sur une aventure tout pour il le choix de lieu de sieste. Cette nuit-là, la terre se déplaça et la Lune de briques descendit le rail jusqu’au volant qui le jeta dans l’espace. Ingham, qui est resté sur le sol à l’extérieur de l’orbe. Lui et tous ne dormant pas dans l’orbe chercherait pendant un an pour le repérer en orbite. La Lune de briques reste en orbite, les familles sur la Lune de briques y cultivent peu de monde et sautent en morse codent leurs activités agriculture et élevage sur leur petit monde.
Ce récit est la première fiction descriptive d’une station spatiale et l’utilisation de quatre objets pour calculer avec précision la position sur la terre, qui est la base du GPS Global Positioning System. D’autres histoires dans le livre incluent Crusoe à New York, des récits de Noel et des nouvelles.

English Translation


The story begins with a group of student at Harvard University discussing astronomy in the 1840’s. One muses on how the North Star is used by sailors to calculate latitude. They all realise there is not an object in all the heavens that is considered for the calculation of longitude. One student says in a chuckle that they should attempt to build a Brick Moon and launch it into orbit. At this point they drop the subject and disperse.
George Orutt being one of the students having now grown older and having come upon a great fortune as a wealthy railway magnate. This was after the Civil War, and Orcutt wanted to make an experiment of their youthful discussion. He called upon the others present at the birth of Brick Moon consideration. The original members now grown were Orutt himself, who put a portion for the construction cost; Ben Brannan, who was a wonderful orator and whom by his gab furnished the enterprise with greater contributions of well to do interested personages. Captain Frederic Ingham, being a minister of government was able to procure for the enterprise to have a useful site devoted for construction.
They made the bricks and used the thermal power of steam, to turn large flywheel which would propel the Brick Moon skyward into orbit. The isolated construction site, warmed by the soft moon glow on a sleepy night. All in gleeful slumber and the Brick Moon, being 200 feet in diameter was on the rail. A few in slumber inside the Brick Moon would come upon an adventure all for there choice of napping place. That night the earth shifted and the Brick Moon went down the rail to the flywheel which flung it into space. Ingham, who remained on the ground outside the orb. He and all not slumbering within the orb would search for a year to spot it in orbit. The Brick Moon remains in orbit, the families on the Brick Moon cultivate there little world and leap in Morse code their activities agriculture and husbandry on their little world.
This narrative is the first descriptive fiction of a space station and the use of four object to accurately calculate position on the earth, which is the basis of the Global Positioning System GPS. Other stories in the book include Crusoe in New York, Christmas narratives and short stories.

[Colin Rafferty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting in the sense that any very old science fiction book is interesting, but tedious to read, like most early science fiction. Too many facts, and not enough story. I gave up halfway through.