Lucian of Samosata; St J. Basil Wynne Willson [trans.] — Lucian&Apos;S Wonderland

Edinburgh and London, William Blackwood and Sons, 1899 . First edition. Cloth. The first edition of St J. Basil Wynne Willson's translation of Lucien's ancient Latin satire, authored in the second century AD. The first edition thus. Translated from Lucien of Samosata's original Latin by St J. Basil Wynne Willson. Not intended to be a literal translation, Willson offers a paraphrase of Lucian's astonishing tales.Illustrated with fifteen art nouveau style plates by A. Payne Garnett, alongside further vignette illustrations. Collated, complete.Lucien's work was s a satire of outlandish tales that had been reported in ancient sources, and is the earliest known work of fiction to include travel to outer space, aliens, and interplanetary warfare. It has been described as "the first known text that could be called science fiction". In the publisher's original pictorial cloth binding. Back strip age toned, with bumping to back strip head. Significant handling marks to boards. Spotting to fore edge of text blocks. Internally, firmly bound. Pages bright, with instances of foxing to first and last few leaves, and further spotting. Very Good . Ill.: A. Payne Garnett. Very Good .