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1868 novel by Edward S. Ellis From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Steam Man of the Prairies by Edward S. Ellis was the first U.S. science fiction dime novel[1] and archetype of the Frank Reade series. It is one of the earliest examples of the so-called "Edisonade" genre.[2] Ellis was a prolific 19th-century author best known as a historian and biographer and a source of early heroic frontier tales in the style of James Fenimore Cooper. This novel may be inspired by the steam powered invention of Zadoc Dederick.[3] The original novel was reissued six times from 1868 to 1904.[4] A copy of the first 1868 printing with its cover intact is owned by the Rosenbach Museum and Library, Philadelphia.[5]
![]() Beadle's American Novel No. 45, August 1868, featuring "The Steam Man of the Prairies" | |
Author | Edward S. Ellis |
---|---|
Working title | The Huge Hunter |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Published | 1868 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | |
Text | The Steam Man of the Prairies at Wikisource |
The first novel starts when Ethan Hopkins and Mickey McSquizzle—a "Yankee" and an "Irishman"—encounter a colossal, steam-powered man in the American prairies. This steam-man was constructed by Johnny Brainerd, a teenaged boy, who uses the steam-man to carry him in a carriage on various adventures.
The Steam Man, a five issue limited series co-written by Mark Alan Miller and Joe R. Lansdale and illustrated by Piotr Kowalski, appeared from Dark Horse Comics beginning in 2015.
The character also appears in a few panels of Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Nemo: Heart of Ice comics. He is also referenced in Warren Ellis; Planetary.
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