Un habitant de la planète Mars

The article, entitled “An inhabitant of the planet Mars,” appeared in the daily newspaper Le Pays on June 17, 1864. It was initially signed by a certain A. Lomon, a journalist who wrote the newspaper's international dispatches, particularly those dealing with the American Civil War. This hoax continued for six months before being interrupted in January 1865 and culminated in the publication of the book, illustrated by Édouard Riou, in bound format that same year.^[1]

Henri de Parville caricaturized the scientific world of his time, but the book remains an educational work in which he presents numerous scientific disciplines.^[2]

This story caused stir in France.^[3] One of Henri de Parville's colleagues, the popular science writer Louis Figuier, who did not appreciate the hoax, lamented in an article in the journal L'Année scientifique et industrielle that people could find amusement in the credulity of readers. He also compared this hoax to the New York Sun's 1835 astronomical hoax about the inhabitants of the moon^[1] and lamented a "real blow to the credibility of the press in general."^[4]

The discovery of Henri de Parville's Martian mummy was mentioned fifty-five years later by Pierre Souvestre on the front page of the magazine L'Auto;^[5] then again in 1923, in the children's story Un voyage en rêve by A. Lorbert.^[1] Finally, the Martian mummy appears in volume 1 of the comic book series L'Œil de la Nuit (The Eye of the Night), in which it is presented during a lecture at the Sorbonne given by Camille Flammarion.^[6]

• Hugues Chabot, « Images de la science en action dans quelques récits martiens (1865-1925) », dans Claire Barel-Moisan et Jean-François Chassay (dir.), Le roman des possibles : l'anticipation dans l'espace médiatique francophone (1860-1940), Montréal, Presses de l'Université de Montréal, coll. « Cavales », 2019, 483 p. (ISBN 978-2-7606-4017-7), p. 69-84.
• Costes, Guy; Altairac, Joseph (2018). Rétrofictions. Interface. Amiens / Paris: Encrage / Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 978-2-25144-851-0..
• Nicolas Gauthier, « Avancer à reculons dans l'espace : 1865 et le roman d'anticipation scientifique », dans Claire Barel-Moisan et Jean-François Chassay (dir.), Le roman des possibles : l'anticipation dans l'espace médiatique francophone (1860-1940), Montréal, Presses de l'Université de Montréal, coll. « Cavales », 2019, 483 p. (ISBN 978-2-7606-4017-7), p. 355-371.
• Jean-Guillaume Lanuque, « La bande-dessinée, avenir du merveilleux-scientifique ? », dans Jean-Guillaume Lanuque (dir.), Dimension Merveilleux scientifique 4, Encino (Calif.), Black Coat Press, coll. « Rivière Blanche », 2018 (ISBN 978-1-61227-749-3), p. 287-302.

• "Mars et la Science-Fiction" (in French). Retrieved 30 June 2020.. Site on the treatment of the planet Mars in popular culture.
• Erwelyn. "Culture martienne". Blog Culture Martienne. MarsSF. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.. Article on the novel Un Habitant de la planète Mars.
• "Un habitant de la planète Mars". Internet Speculative Fiction Database.