The Crystal City Under The Sea

by André Laurie, L.A. Smith (Translator)

A Lost Race novel of an Atlantean remnant beneath the ocean off the Azores. Andre Laurie was the only writer to have co-authored a book, Salvage from the Cynthia, with Jules Verne.

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1895

About the author

Pseudonym of Paschal Grousset

Reviews

[Janne Wass · Rating 3 out of 5]

During a storm, sailor René Caoudal is dragged with a dislodged cannon under the sea, where he is saved by an old man and a beautiful woman and brought to a strange cave at the bottom of the sea to recuperate. Tied to a barrel and sent back up to the surface. When rescued, he seeks out his old shipmate and friend Kermadec, the family doctor Patrice and his cousin Helene, whose mother hopes will become his wife. Adamant that he has not been hallucinating, René seeks the funding of a British prince in order to build a bathysphere, which he takes down at the spot of the accident, finding there a wonderful crystal city under the sea, and through the transparent walls sees the beautiful Atlantis and her father walking in the submerged gardens. Returning to France, he builds a submarine and enlists his friend Kermadec to take a second trip, this time to find a way to enter the city. Only Kermadec returns in the ship, praying the family doctor to come along. But Helene is adamant she go along as well, only to see this wonderful woman René has been talking about. And indeed, her mother will not let her go without supervision, so the party of four go down, despite the mother's protests that it is not proper for a young lady like Helene to go on adventures such as this. Unbeknownst to them, the British prince, with fame and fortune on his mind, has been following their doings closely ...

Published a year prior H.G. Wells' short story "In the Abyss", as "Atlantis", and translated to English in 1896, "Crystal City" was probably the first SF novel actually portraying an underwater society. As is often the case with André Laurie/Paschal Grousset, the language is flowery and much of the novel is taken up by romantic melodrama, but not too much as to make this dreary for a reader who is looking for adventure and wonders. A truly neglected early science fiction author, Paschal Grousset is at best a storyteller in the same class as Jules Verne.