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The Diamond Lens and Other Strange Tales
Fitz-James O'Brien lived only 35 years -- from 1826 till 1862 -- but in his brief life he left a mark that endures today. O'Brien endures because he was a remarkable writer. Remarkable indeed! He had a way of blending of hard fact with almost-fanciful fantasy, juxtaposing technology and mysticism, creating convincing and "scientific" settings that play against the otherworldly romance.
172 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2002
About the author
Fitz-James O'Brien
256 books27 followersHe was born Michael O'Brien in County Cork, and was very young when the family moved to Limerick, Ireland. He attended the University of Dublin, and is believed to have been at one time a soldier in the British Army. On leaving college he went to London, and in the course of four years spent his inheritance of £8,000, meanwhile editing a periodical in aid of the World's Fair of 1851. About 1852 he came to the United States, in the process changing his name to Fitz James and thenceforth he devoted his attention to literature.
While he was in college he had shown an aptitude for writing verse, and two of his poems—"Loch Ine" and "Irish Castles"—were published in The Ballads of Ireland (1856).
His earliest writings in the United States were contributed to The Lantern, which was then edited by John Brougham. Subsequently he wrote for The Home Journal, The New York Times, and The American Whig Review. His first important literary connection was with Harper's Magazine, and beginning in February 1853, with The Two Skulls, he contributed more than sixty articles in prose and verse to that periodical. He likewise wrote for the New York Saturday Press, Putnam's Magazine, Vanity Fair, and The Atlantic Monthly. To the latter he sent "The Diamond Lens" (1858) and "The Wondersmith" (1859), which are unsurpassed as creations of the imagination, and are unique among short magazine stories. "The Diamond Lens" is probably his most famous short story, and tells the story of a scientist who invents a powerful microscope discovers a beautiful female in a microscopic world inside a drop of water. "The Wondersmith" is an early predecessor of robot rebellion, where toys possessed by evil spirits are transformed into living automatons who turns against their creators. His 1858 short called "Horrors Unknown" has been referred to as "the single most striking example of surrealistic fiction to pre-date Alice in Wonderland" (Sam Moskowitz, 1971). "What Was It? A Mystery" (1859) is one of the earliest known examples of invisibility in fiction.
His pen was also employed in writing plays. For James W. Wallack he made A Gentleman from Ireland, that held the boards for a generation. He also wrote and adapted other pieces for the theatres, but they had a shorter existence.
In New York he at once associated with the brilliant set of Bohemians of that day, among whom he was ranked as the most able. At the weekly dinners that were given by John Brougham, or at the nightly suppers at Pfaff's on Broadway, he was the soul of the entertainment.
In 1861 he joined the 7th regiment of the New York National Guard, hoping to be sent to the front, and he was in Camp Cameron before Washington for six weeks. When his regiment returned to New York he received an appointment on the staff of General Frederick W. Lander. He was severely wounded in a skirmish on February 26, 1862, and lingered until April, when he died at Cumberland, Maryland.
From Wikipedia.
While he was in college he had shown an aptitude for writing verse, and two of his poems—"Loch Ine" and "Irish Castles"—were published in The Ballads of Ireland (1856).
His earliest writings in the United States were contributed to The Lantern, which was then edited by John Brougham. Subsequently he wrote for The Home Journal, The New York Times, and The American Whig Review. His first important literary connection was with Harper's Magazine, and beginning in February 1853, with The Two Skulls, he contributed more than sixty articles in prose and verse to that periodical. He likewise wrote for the New York Saturday Press, Putnam's Magazine, Vanity Fair, and The Atlantic Monthly. To the latter he sent "The Diamond Lens" (1858) and "The Wondersmith" (1859), which are unsurpassed as creations of the imagination, and are unique among short magazine stories. "The Diamond Lens" is probably his most famous short story, and tells the story of a scientist who invents a powerful microscope discovers a beautiful female in a microscopic world inside a drop of water. "The Wondersmith" is an early predecessor of robot rebellion, where toys possessed by evil spirits are transformed into living automatons who turns against their creators. His 1858 short called "Horrors Unknown" has been referred to as "the single most striking example of surrealistic fiction to pre-date Alice in Wonderland" (Sam Moskowitz, 1971). "What Was It? A Mystery" (1859) is one of the earliest known examples of invisibility in fiction.
His pen was also employed in writing plays. For James W. Wallack he made A Gentleman from Ireland, that held the boards for a generation. He also wrote and adapted other pieces for the theatres, but they had a shorter existence.
In New York he at once associated with the brilliant set of Bohemians of that day, among whom he was ranked as the most able. At the weekly dinners that were given by John Brougham, or at the nightly suppers at Pfaff's on Broadway, he was the soul of the entertainment.
In 1861 he joined the 7th regiment of the New York National Guard, hoping to be sent to the front, and he was in Camp Cameron before Washington for six weeks. When his regiment returned to New York he received an appointment on the staff of General Frederick W. Lander. He was severely wounded in a skirmish on February 26, 1862, and lingered until April, when he died at Cumberland, Maryland.
From Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 3, 2021
Irish-born Fitz-James O'Brien (1826-1862) --who emigrated to the U.S. in 1852 and died of tetanus from a wound he received as a Union soldier in the Civil War-- is often regarded as America's leading master of the short story in the years between the death of Poe in 1849 and the emergence of Bret Harte after the Civil War. (He also wrote poetry and plays.) Since several of his fictions have science-fictional premises, he merited a chapter in Sam Moskowitz's Explorers of the Infinite: Shapers of Science Fiction, which was what originally brought him to my attention. Written in the Romantic style, his work is characterized by exuberant (even far-out) imagination and a preference for extreme and melodramatic situations.
This collection brings together seven of his better-known stories, bracketed by two of his poems. I'd previously read one of the latter, "The Demon of the Gibbet," in Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural (and commented on it in my review of that anthology), as well as three of these stories. "The Child Who Loved a Grave" and "What Was It? A Mystery" are included, respectively, in Great Irish Tales of Horror: A Treasury of Fear and Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (and I commented briefly on the former in my review of that collection). Also, I'd read "The Diamond Lens" (though I never read the whole anthology where it was included), and used it as a required reading for American Literature class when I was home schooling my daughters. The two latter stories are the author's most often anthologized works, and the solidest examples of science fiction I've read in his corpus (though "The Diamond Lens" also incorporates the Victorian craze for spiritualist seances). In both these cases, the SF is of the "soft" variety (and largely pseudo-science); Linley, the protagonist of the second story, very much illustrates the Romantic trope of scientist as seeker of destructive and forbidden knowledge.
Both poems here are short, and of the story-telling type; the last one, "The Legend of Easter Eggs," has a father concocting a fantastic story, for his credulous child, of how Easter eggs supposedly came to be laid by a bird (rather than decorated by adults for kids!). It expresses some beautiful and moving verbal imagery and reflection on the story of Christ's resurrection (though, given the premise of the poem, it's uncertain how seriously we can take these). Of the four stories that were new to me, both "The Golden Ingot" (which includes several references to real-life historical alchemists and alchemical research) and "How I Overcame My Gravity" are, IMO, well-written tales of their type, even though Moskowitz deprecated the latter. "The Wondersmith," though, is very considerably marred by the fact that it's a viciously racist attack on the Rom people (or Gypsies), about whom, moreover, the author obviously knew practically nothing except for popular stereotypes, and should also come with serious warnings for depictions of cruelty to animals. (Again disagreeing with Moskowitz, I don't consider the latter story an example of SF --the tiny mannikins there are animated by supernatural means, not by anything remotely scientific.) "My Wife's Tempter" is also premised in an invidious attack on the faith (and the protagonist/narrator there expresses highly bigoted comments about Catholics as well). That's a side of O'Brien I hadn't previously encountered, and didn't appreciate.
Given my comments about the two latter stories, it could fairly be questioned whether a three-star rating for the book could be justified. However, I settled on it as an overall rating; the other seven selections don't have the same problem(s), and so arguably shouldn't be dragged down further by these two. Also, "The Wondersmith" is (partially) redeemed in my eyes by the fact that it has a hero who's hunch-backed, but presented as an admirable person regardless of his physical deformity, and a competent heroine who doesn't sit around waiting to be rescued by a male. (In an 1850s context, I wasn't at all bothered by the idea that a 16-year-old girl could feel, and be the object of, serious romantic attraction.)
This collection brings together seven of his better-known stories, bracketed by two of his poems. I'd previously read one of the latter, "The Demon of the Gibbet," in Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural (and commented on it in my review of that anthology), as well as three of these stories. "The Child Who Loved a Grave" and "What Was It? A Mystery" are included, respectively, in Great Irish Tales of Horror: A Treasury of Fear and Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (and I commented briefly on the former in my review of that collection). Also, I'd read "The Diamond Lens" (though I never read the whole anthology where it was included), and used it as a required reading for American Literature class when I was home schooling my daughters. The two latter stories are the author's most often anthologized works, and the solidest examples of science fiction I've read in his corpus (though "The Diamond Lens" also incorporates the Victorian craze for spiritualist seances). In both these cases, the SF is of the "soft" variety (and largely pseudo-science); Linley, the protagonist of the second story, very much illustrates the Romantic trope of scientist as seeker of destructive and forbidden knowledge.
Both poems here are short, and of the story-telling type; the last one, "The Legend of Easter Eggs," has a father concocting a fantastic story, for his credulous child, of how Easter eggs supposedly came to be laid by a bird (rather than decorated by adults for kids!). It expresses some beautiful and moving verbal imagery and reflection on the story of Christ's resurrection (though, given the premise of the poem, it's uncertain how seriously we can take these). Of the four stories that were new to me, both "The Golden Ingot" (which includes several references to real-life historical alchemists and alchemical research) and "How I Overcame My Gravity" are, IMO, well-written tales of their type, even though Moskowitz deprecated the latter. "The Wondersmith," though, is very considerably marred by the fact that it's a viciously racist attack on the Rom people (or Gypsies), about whom, moreover, the author obviously knew practically nothing except for popular stereotypes, and should also come with serious warnings for depictions of cruelty to animals. (Again disagreeing with Moskowitz, I don't consider the latter story an example of SF --the tiny mannikins there are animated by supernatural means, not by anything remotely scientific.) "My Wife's Tempter" is also premised in an invidious attack on the faith (and the protagonist/narrator there expresses highly bigoted comments about Catholics as well). That's a side of O'Brien I hadn't previously encountered, and didn't appreciate.
Given my comments about the two latter stories, it could fairly be questioned whether a three-star rating for the book could be justified. However, I settled on it as an overall rating; the other seven selections don't have the same problem(s), and so arguably shouldn't be dragged down further by these two. Also, "The Wondersmith" is (partially) redeemed in my eyes by the fact that it has a hero who's hunch-backed, but presented as an admirable person regardless of his physical deformity, and a competent heroine who doesn't sit around waiting to be rescued by a male. (In an 1850s context, I wasn't at all bothered by the idea that a 16-year-old girl could feel, and be the object of, serious romantic attraction.)
July 30, 2013
An early forerunner of the weird story, the stories here are characterised firstly by insane and original ideas, and secondly by the act of the protagonists taking a scientific approach to the supernatural. This is best seen in the titular 'The Diamond Lens', in which worlds are discovered under a microscope's scrutiny, and 'What Was It?", an Invisible Man type tale that beats Wells to the punch by several years. In each, it is the scientific rigor (within the limits of the science of the day) which lifts the story from simple Poe territory into something closer to science fiction. My favourite yarn herein though, is 'Wonderland', in which the narrator turns an ordinary back street into a rich world of freaks and terrors with the sort gloriously fabulist flourishes that JK Rowling repopularised this century with the Harry Potter books. A lovely little book, and for me a fine introduction to this author.
March 16, 2014
La vida de Fitz-James O'Brien es digna de una novela. Nació en Irlanda, en 1828, y quedó huérfano de padre a los once años. Su madre volvió a casarse con un hombre de familia acomodada. Con dieciséis años empezó a componer poemas, sobre todo al ser testigo de la Gran Hambruna. Al llegar a la mayoría de edad pudo disponer de la herencia de su padre. A partir de aquí se convirtió en un vividor, trasladándose a Londres, donde siguió escribiendo historias de todo tipo, predominando las sobrenaturales y fantásticas. La herencia le duró menos de tres años, con lo que decidió partir rumbo a Norteamérica. Es en este país donde desarrolla su mayor labor como escritor, crítico y periodista, llevando una vida bohemia. Al llegar la Guerra de Secesión se alista en el Ejército de la Unión, siendo herido gravemente. A partir de aquí su salud se fue deteriorando. Murió repentinamente dos meses después. Tenía 33 años.
Los relatos contenidos en este volumen son más fantásticos que terroríficos. Fitz-James O'Brien escribía muy bien, dotando a su prosa de un sentido evocador y onírico.
Estos son los cuentos incluídos:
- La lente de diamante. (****) El protagonista es un microcopista que está fascinado por los mundos diminutos, de los que la gente no es consciente de su existencia. Su mayor deseo es conseguir una lente que le permita descubrir estos mundos. Gran relato.
- El cuarto perdido. (****) Un huésped está una noche tranquilamente en su cuarto, reflexionando sobre algunos de los objetos que este contiene. Hace calor y decide salir al jardín. Tras un encuentro perturbador, regresa a su cuarto, donde le espera una sorpresa inesperada. Un cuento fascinante.
- La visión del mundo. (****) El protagonista de este cuento desea poder expresar todas sus ideas y pensamientos en palabras. Pero los deseos siempre conllevan un precio muy alto. Muy buen relato, que me recordó una vieja película de Ray Milland, 'El hombre con rayos X en los ojos'.
- El Forjador de Milagros. (***) El Forjador de Milagros ha abierto su tienda en la Calle Golosh. Sus intenciones son demoníacas... Relato con tintes hoffmanescos.
- La maceta de tulipanes. (**) Tras la muerte del señor Van Koeren nadie sabe qué fue de su fortuna. Un típico cuento de fantasmas.
- ¿Qué es eso? (****) Los huéspedes de una pensión se trasladan a un nuevo edificio donde se dice que acaecen extraños sucesos. Relato que inspiró a Maupassant para escribir 'El Horla'. Todo un clásico.
- El colmillo de dragón poseído por el mago Piou-lu. (**) Piou-lu dice que es capaz de conceder cualquier deseo que se le pida... Un cuento chino de corte clásico.
Los relatos contenidos en este volumen son más fantásticos que terroríficos. Fitz-James O'Brien escribía muy bien, dotando a su prosa de un sentido evocador y onírico.
Estos son los cuentos incluídos:
- La lente de diamante. (****) El protagonista es un microcopista que está fascinado por los mundos diminutos, de los que la gente no es consciente de su existencia. Su mayor deseo es conseguir una lente que le permita descubrir estos mundos. Gran relato.
- El cuarto perdido. (****) Un huésped está una noche tranquilamente en su cuarto, reflexionando sobre algunos de los objetos que este contiene. Hace calor y decide salir al jardín. Tras un encuentro perturbador, regresa a su cuarto, donde le espera una sorpresa inesperada. Un cuento fascinante.
- La visión del mundo. (****) El protagonista de este cuento desea poder expresar todas sus ideas y pensamientos en palabras. Pero los deseos siempre conllevan un precio muy alto. Muy buen relato, que me recordó una vieja película de Ray Milland, 'El hombre con rayos X en los ojos'.
- El Forjador de Milagros. (***) El Forjador de Milagros ha abierto su tienda en la Calle Golosh. Sus intenciones son demoníacas... Relato con tintes hoffmanescos.
- La maceta de tulipanes. (**) Tras la muerte del señor Van Koeren nadie sabe qué fue de su fortuna. Un típico cuento de fantasmas.
- ¿Qué es eso? (****) Los huéspedes de una pensión se trasladan a un nuevo edificio donde se dice que acaecen extraños sucesos. Relato que inspiró a Maupassant para escribir 'El Horla'. Todo un clásico.
- El colmillo de dragón poseído por el mago Piou-lu. (**) Piou-lu dice que es capaz de conceder cualquier deseo que se le pida... Un cuento chino de corte clásico.
January 9, 2025
3.77⭐
A collection of short stories by Fitz-James O'Brien.
Sketch of O'Brien by William Winter 5⭐
The Diamond Lens • (1858) 3.25⭐
The Wondersmith • (1859) 5⭐
Tommatoo • (1862) 4⭐
Mother of Pearl • (1860) 3.75⭐
The Bohemian • (1855) 4⭐
The Lost Room • (1858) 4⭐
The Pot of Tulips • [Harry Escott] • (1855) 3.5⭐
The Golden Ingot • (1881) 3.5⭐
My Wife's Tempter • (1881) 2.5⭐
What Was It? • [Harry Escott] • (1859) 4⭐
Duke Humphrey's Dinner • (1855) 3.5⭐
284-312 • Milly Dove • (1855) 3.5⭐
The Dragon Fang • (variant of The Dragon-Fang Possessed by the Conjuror Piou-Lu 1856) 3.25⭐
A collection of short stories by Fitz-James O'Brien.
Sketch of O'Brien by William Winter 5⭐
The Diamond Lens • (1858) 3.25⭐
The Wondersmith • (1859) 5⭐
Tommatoo • (1862) 4⭐
Mother of Pearl • (1860) 3.75⭐
The Bohemian • (1855) 4⭐
The Lost Room • (1858) 4⭐
The Pot of Tulips • [Harry Escott] • (1855) 3.5⭐
The Golden Ingot • (1881) 3.5⭐
My Wife's Tempter • (1881) 2.5⭐
What Was It? • [Harry Escott] • (1859) 4⭐
Duke Humphrey's Dinner • (1855) 3.5⭐
284-312 • Milly Dove • (1855) 3.5⭐
The Dragon Fang • (variant of The Dragon-Fang Possessed by the Conjuror Piou-Lu 1856) 3.25⭐
August 29, 2017
Uno de los relatos que más me ha sorprendido de los que incluye la antología es «El forjador de milagros» (1859). El inventor Her Hyppe, junto a Madame Filomel y otro grupo de colaboradores, logra crear una nueva especie de pequeños autómatas asesinos, supuestamente poseídos por el diablo, capaces de matar a cualquier persona en segundos. Su macabro objetivo no es otro que el de enviar a su pequeño ejército a las casas de las familias cristianas para que acaben con los niños en la víspera de Navidad. Sorprendente y adictiva narración que incluye la que algunos consideran la primera rebelión de robots/autómatas de la literatura. Crítica completa: http://www.libros-prohibidos.com/fitz...
August 20, 2025
Muy interesante recopilación de relatos de un autor que por desgracia nos dejó antes de poder desarrollar totalmente su talento literario.
Los relatos van muy en la línea de lo que esperarías encontrar en la mítica revista Weird Tales, historias que mezclan elementos de terror, fantasía, ciencia ficción y elecciones narrativas muy extrañas pero con mucha personalidad.
Las que más me han gustado han sido La Lente De Diamante, ¿Que es eso?, y especialmente, El Cuarto Perdido.
Lectura muy recomendada.
Los relatos van muy en la línea de lo que esperarías encontrar en la mítica revista Weird Tales, historias que mezclan elementos de terror, fantasía, ciencia ficción y elecciones narrativas muy extrañas pero con mucha personalidad.
Las que más me han gustado han sido La Lente De Diamante, ¿Que es eso?, y especialmente, El Cuarto Perdido.
Lectura muy recomendada.
March 13, 2013
There's a lot of raw talent and sadly wasted potential in these stories. O'Brien is a sort of transitional figure, bridging the gap between the Gothic Romanticism of Poe and Hoffmann and what would later become science fiction. It's tantalizing to imagine what he might have accomplished had he not been killed in the Civil War.
January 17, 2022
Me han sorprendido los relatos de este libro. Algunos de ellos me han gustado mucho. Recomendable.
January 31, 2024
I put this on my "to read" list a few years ago, after hearing the title story mentioned in the "What If We Could Shrink People?" episode of the great Flash Forward podcast, which sadly stopped releasing new episodes in 2023. The 1969 hardcover edition I checked out from the library (only one in the entire county's system for that exact title and author) seems to have a different collection of stories from the paperback edition that shows up in search results here, but does contain the three mentioned in most of the reviews here: "The Diamond Lens", "The Wondersmith", and "What Was It?"
Perhaps I was expecting too much from very early (pre-Civil War) science fiction. But the stories don't seem to have aged as well as similar gothic / science fiction stories from contemporaries like Mary Shelley or Edgar Allen Poe. The 19th century casual racism is all too prominent and cringeworthy, the language often seems way too flowery, and character motivations often feel at least a bit "off".
For example, starting with the title story, "The Diamond Lens", while it may be interesting to have the narrator and primary character be the prototypical mad scientist, . Add in some anti-semitism on top, and the motivation is sickening. I suppose the idea is to portray just how obsessed the narrator is, but it still doesn't feel right.
As other reviewers have noted, "The Wondersmith"'s whole "gypsies vs. Christians" plot is really offensive, with the villains being too broadly painted and cartoonish. I know this is considered an early robots attacking story, but it seems more a possessed doll story.
So, some interesting early speculative fiction, but marred by storytelling choices that have not aged at all well, even by standards for contemporary works.
Want to Read
January 14, 2024que fue eso
y la maceta de tulipanes
y la maceta de tulipanes
May 2, 2018
Fitz-James O'Brien is a fantastically descriptive writer who paints vivid pictures of his larger-than-life characters. And yet, his storytelling ability can also leave one feeling a tad bereft -- this is most notable in the last two stories.
"The Diamond Lens" is the first story contained herein, and, in my personal opinion, the best of the three. This piece contemplated the relationship of responsibility between "greater" and "lesser" organisms -- for instance, is a snail one passes on the sidewalk aware of the passing? and who takes responsibility if the snail were to be stepped on? While there are no snails in the story, O'Brien examines this idea in a suspenseful, creepy, speculative-science-fiction tale that left me chilled and contemplative.
"The Wondersmith" had a cast of vivid characters that stayed with me more than the story did. Thematically, the piece touches upon the classic "good versus evil" dichotomy, but in a way that is very cartoonish. Like, the villains could be cousins of Gargamel. And, unfortunately, the conflict can basically be distilled into "gypsies versus Christians," which, obviously in this day and age, just stands out as bad taste. The story was very descriptive, but left much to be desired in terms of actual story content.
"What Was It?" was not only the title of the last story, but also the general feeling I had after finishing reading it. The piece opened with the very Lovecraftian "This indescribably monstrous thing happened to me and I will try to retell it though I can't describe it" and that "indescribable" refrain kept up through the story (which could have been a literary device to allude to the invisible entity the main character finds, but it just seemed strange as O'Brien's other stories were so detailed in their descriptions). The end of this piece had me feeling like I just walked in to an off-brand "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" special feature.
All things considered, while his craft was sometimes wanting, I enjoyed Fitz-James O'Brien's wordsmithing and would recommend this collection to others who enjoy weird and speculative fiction.
"The Diamond Lens" is the first story contained herein, and, in my personal opinion, the best of the three. This piece contemplated the relationship of responsibility between "greater" and "lesser" organisms -- for instance, is a snail one passes on the sidewalk aware of the passing? and who takes responsibility if the snail were to be stepped on? While there are no snails in the story, O'Brien examines this idea in a suspenseful, creepy, speculative-science-fiction tale that left me chilled and contemplative.
"The Wondersmith" had a cast of vivid characters that stayed with me more than the story did. Thematically, the piece touches upon the classic "good versus evil" dichotomy, but in a way that is very cartoonish. Like, the villains could be cousins of Gargamel. And, unfortunately, the conflict can basically be distilled into "gypsies versus Christians," which, obviously in this day and age, just stands out as bad taste. The story was very descriptive, but left much to be desired in terms of actual story content.
"What Was It?" was not only the title of the last story, but also the general feeling I had after finishing reading it. The piece opened with the very Lovecraftian "This indescribably monstrous thing happened to me and I will try to retell it though I can't describe it" and that "indescribable" refrain kept up through the story (which could have been a literary device to allude to the invisible entity the main character finds, but it just seemed strange as O'Brien's other stories were so detailed in their descriptions). The end of this piece had me feeling like I just walked in to an off-brand "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" special feature.
All things considered, while his craft was sometimes wanting, I enjoyed Fitz-James O'Brien's wordsmithing and would recommend this collection to others who enjoy weird and speculative fiction.
July 24, 2011
The title story "The Diamond Lens" is a wonderful satire of Science's claim to objectivity, exposing the highly eroticising nature of a scientist's gaze, when he falls in love with his 'object'. There's also a hint at the potentially dangerous nature of the gaze when the very act of surveillance brings death to the surveyed. Unfortunately the rest of the short tales in this collection cannot keep up the high standard set by this story. While the two poems are entertaining, the stories fail to generate interest. Even worse, two of them ("My Wife's Tempter" and "The Wondersmith") are bigoted and mean. "The Wondersmith" at least is well-written even if the racist content is almost unpalatable. If it wasn't for "The Diamond Lens" I'd give only one star...
August 27, 2012
An interesting collection of early speculative fiction by Fitz-James O'Brien written in the 1850/60s. It includes stories dealing with the fascination of microscopic worlds hauntings, murderous miniature manikins and alchemy.
The only thing that mars it is the streak of racism running through the stories, which I assume were indicative of the culture at the time.
The only thing that mars it is the streak of racism running through the stories, which I assume were indicative of the culture at the time.
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April 17, 2022His best-known stories include
• “The Diamond Lens,” 1858 about a man who falls in love with a being he sees through a microscope in a drop of water;
• “What Was It?” 1859 in which a man is attacked by a thing he apprehends with every sense but sight; and
• “The Wondersmith,” 1859 in which robots are fashioned only to turn upon their creators.
• “The Diamond Lens,” 1858 about a man who falls in love with a being he sees through a microscope in a drop of water;
• “What Was It?” 1859 in which a man is attacked by a thing he apprehends with every sense but sight; and
• “The Wondersmith,” 1859 in which robots are fashioned only to turn upon their creators.
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