ROSNY aine, J.H.

   Pseudonym of French-speaking Belgian writer Joseph-Henri Boex (1856-1940). His younger brother Justin shared the pseudonym J.H. Rosny with him 1893-1907, and some works published during that period are collaborative. Joseph-Henri used the name for solo writings before 1893, and after 1907 it was divided, Joseph-Henri taking the suffix "aine" and Justin "jeune". The elder Rosny is an important figure in the developmentof French speculative fiction, although only one of his novels, Le felin geant (1918 France; trans The Hon. Lady Whitehead as The Giant Cat 1924 US; vt Quest of the Dawn Man 1964 US) was translated into English duringhis lifetime. Damon KNIGHT translated 2 of his most important short stories: "Les xipehuz" (1887; trans as "The Shapes" in One Hundred Years of Science Fiction, anth 1968), in which prehistoric humans encounter inorganic ALIENS, and the PARALLEL-WORLDS story "Un autre monde" (1895; trans as "Another World" in A Century of Science Fiction, anth 1962). The former is also included, along with the fine END-OF-THE-WORLD story "La mort de la terre" (1910), in The Xipehuz and The Death of the Earth (coll trans George Edgar SLUSSER 1978). The most famous of JHR's many prehistoric fantasies, La Guerre du Feu (1909 France; cut trans Harold Talbott as The Quest for Fire: A Novel of Prehistoric Times 1967 US), wasfilmed as QUEST FOR FIRE (1981). A "translation" of L'etonnant voyage de Hareton Ironcastle ("The Astonishing Journey of Hareton Ironcastle") (1922France) was produced by Philip Jose FARMER as Ironcastle (1976), but so drastically modified that it cannot be regarded as the same work. JHR's prehistoric romances - which include Vamireh (1892), Eyrimah (1893) and Helgvor du fleuve bleu ("Helgvor of the Blue River") (1930) as well asabove-mentioned titles - were reissued in France in 1990 by Editions Robert Laffont in a huge omnibus volume; many of his short sf and fantasystories, plus his semi-mystical speculative essay on creation and EVOLUTION, La legende sceptique ("The Sceptical Legend") (1889), and hisshort novel Les navigateurs de l'infini ("Navigators of Infinity") (1925) are in a Marabout collection titled Recits de science-fiction ("Works of Science Fiction") (coll 1975 Belgium). The story begun in Les navigateursde l'infini is continued in the posthumous Les astronautes (1960 France). JHR's other sf works include La grande enigme ("The Great Enigma") (1920France) and Les compagnons de l'univers ("Companions of the Universe") (1934), another lyrical meditation in the vein of La legende sceptique.

   BS

   About the author: "The Sf of J.H. Rosny the Elder" by J.P. Vernier, Science-Fiction Studies vol 2 \#2 (July 1975).

   See also: ANTHROPOLOGY; BENELUX; BIOLOGY; COSMOLOGY; FRANCE; HISTORY OF SF; LIFE ON OTHER WORLDS; ORIGIN OF MAN; PERCEPTION; RELIGION.