SOLVED. 1980s reprint of Victorian(?) Science Fiction novel-maybe Victorian era or prior to 1930s? Read 1989-Man travels to different planets in solar system and describes the sights, the people, and customs therein-like Gulliver's Travels.

[Ky]

Edited to add (5/22/2022) This is Star of the Unborn by Franz Werfel. Title was fixed--too many characters previously; I removed some.
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I read this in 1989. It was a newish paperback, a reprint of a very old novel written in Victorian or Edwardian times. Possibly WWI or Roaring 20s but not later than that. There was a forward describing this old novel and why it was worth reprinting.

This is all I really remember: a man was able to travel to the different planets in the solar system. I think it was teleportation or maybe portals--I don't remember anything about him traveling on a spaceship.

He travels to one planet, perhaps Jupiter? There, he meets people who are extremely cultured and elegant. They value esthetics highly and they never sit down because it would break up the beauty of a straight line. So they always stand or recline when they socialize.

It's probably nothing written by Lord Dunsany.

I can't rule out Jules Verne completely but I had a look at the Wikipedia list of 65 books that he wrote. None of those titles jumped out at me, and the ones that are obviously to do with space aren't this novel either.

It could be by James Branch Cabell but I looked through his novels available on gutenberg.org and couldn't find it. It's not any of the ones with Dom Miguel of Poictesme.

The novel was very old-fashioned in tone and very soft on the science fiction. I think its tone was more earnest than satirical, but it was like Gulliver's Travels in that the narrator traveled from place to place, and described what he saw and did in each place.

Edited to add a list of the books I have ruled out:
Other Planets by Swedenborg
anything by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Voyages to the Moon and Sun by de Bergerac
A Journey in Other Worlds by Astor
The Worm Ouroboros by Eddison
Around the Moon by Verne
From the Earth to the Moon by Verne
Off on a Comet by Verne
Across the Zodiac by Greg
A Honeymoon in Space by Griffith
Aleriel, or, A Voyage to Other Worlds by Lach-Szyrma
The Voyages of Lord Seaton to the Seven Planets by Roumier-Roberts
Journeys into the Moon, Several Planets, and the Sun by anonymous
Micromegas by Voltaire
Consolations in Travel by Davy

[Nachelle]

Do any of the John Carter books by Edgar Rice Burroughs seem like yours? He travels in a teleported kind of way to Mars and I think you could consider it similar somewhat to Gulliver's Travels in that he describes people and customs.

[Genesistrine]

Sounds like Other Planets by Emanuel Swedenborg.

(Note: there are various translations of it.)

[Ky]

Nachelle, I'm not sure. I doubt it but I do appreciate the suggestion and will double-check the books. I have no recollections of names like Barsoom, John Carter, Dejah, or the like, but it has been over 30 years.

Genesistrine, thanks! That seems like a likely candidate. I'll check it out.

[Genesistrine]

If it's not you might try Cyrano de Bergerac's Voyages to the Moon and Sun, though that just involves, as you might expect, the Moon and Sun.

[Ky]

Unfortunately, Other Planets is not the book. And nothing in Burroughs's list of novels fits either. I found Voyages to the Moon and Sun (an English translation) on gutenberg.org but it isn't the book either.

My recollection is still really hazy but I'm now getting the feeling the novel was written in English originally, not translated from another language.

[Genesistrine]

Have a look at this article: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/... - it includes a number of early novels involving visits to Saturn.

[S.U.]

A Journey in Other Worlds: A Romance of the Future

Across the Zodiac

A Honeymoon in Space

[Ky]

Thank you, Genesistrine and S.U.—I'll have a look at all these and report back soon.

[ConnieD]

I don't think this is it, but I'll throw it out there anyway.
Aleriel, Or A Voyage To Other Worlds
Someone from another planet visits Earth and other planets and tells what he saw.

[ConnieD]

*by Wladislaw Lach- Szyrma

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Probably not it but can we rule out The Worm Ouroboros? It's set on another planet. Lots of war, very flowery language. It inspired Tolkien.

[Genesistrine]

I'm willing to bet heavily it's not The Worm Ouroboros - that's technically set on Mercury, but it's only a framing device and the author immediately forgets about it.

[Ky]

Genesistrine, you have won that bet! :) Yes, The Worm Ouroboros is not the book--it's too much like fantasy and a lot more warlike than what I remember. A Journey in Other Worlds is also not the book because there was a crew of people, and the book I remember has a solitary traveler.

I will check into Zodiac, Honeymoon, and Alariel soon, and confirm, but if Alariel's protagonist is from another planet and traveling to Earth, it probably isn't the book either.

[S.U.]

You may also want to look into The Voyages of Lord Seaton to the Seven Planets.

[Genesistrine]

Another possibility: A Trip to Venus by John Munro - it's online at Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13716

[Ky]

bumping

I've added a few books from the sf-encyclopedia link from #7 above to my list of books ruled out. Currently, I'm going through A Narrative of Travels by Paul Aermont, with Voices from Many Hilltops, Echos from Many Valleys and A Trip to Venus to be looked at next.