Archibald Marshall
Archibald Marshall, born Arthur Hammond Marshall in 1866, was a notable British novelist, short-story writer, and humorist whose work gained prominence in the early 20th century. He is best remembered today for his novel "Upsidonia," published in 1917, which is often categorized as a satire more than a traditional science fiction novel. At the time of its release, the concept of science fiction had not yet been formally defined, even though "Upsidonia" explores themes of parallel worlds, a concept that would later gain traction in literary discussions. Marshall's writing often critiqued societal norms, depicting a world where values, particularly economic ones, were inverted. Despite his prolific output, including works like "Exton Manor" and "Simple People," most of his writings are now out of print, although a few remain accessible to readers today. Marshall founded the Alston Rivers publishing house and contributed significantly to literature during his lifetime, but he has since faded from mainstream recognition. He passed away in 1934, leaving behind a legacy that is both intriguing and reflective of his era's cultural context.
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Archibald Marshall
Fiction Writer
- Born: 1866
- Died: 1934
Biography
Archibald Marshall was the pen name of Arthur Hammond Marshall, a novelist, short-story writer, and humorist who was well known as a prolific writer in his time but is almost forgotten today, except for one novel, Upsidonia, which borders on the science-fiction genre. He was born in 1866 and graduated from Cambridge University. He founded the Alston Rivers publishing house and published one of his own novels, The House of Merrilees (1905), under its auspices.
The term “science fiction” had not been invented when he wrote his novel Upsidonia (1917). That term was coined y Hugo Gernsback, who began publishing the first science- fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, in 1926. However, scholars claim stories by Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Edgar Allan Poe, and other authors are earlier examples of science fiction. This was also the fate of Upsidonia, which is more of a satire than a science-fiction novel.
The book places its protagonist in what we would now call a parallel world, again a term and concept which did not exist when Upsidonia was published. The term now refers to another world or universe situated alongside our own but displaced from it through some sort of special fourth dimension. In the fictional world of Marshall’s novel, all of society’s values, especially its economic values, are totally reversed from the way they exist in the actual world. Marshall uses this contrast to poke fun at many of the societal values of his time.
Upsidonia has been compared to the better-known Erehwon (1872), by the British writer Samuel Butler. As Upsidonia is a play on words pertaining to values in the parallel world being upside down, Erehwon is the word “nowhere” spelled backwards.
Marshall was an extremely prolific and popular writer in the early decades of the twentieth century, publishing short stories as well as novels. Considering his output, relatively few of his works remain in print today. Some that are available in modern editions include Exton Manor (1908), The Clinton Twins, and Other Stories (1923), The Hall and the Grange: A Novel (1921), The Dragon (1966), Gramophone Nights (1923; with Compton Mackenzie), Watermeads: A Novel (1916), Simple Stories (1927), and Simple People (1928). The latter novel is arguably his second-best known novel today.
Marshall died in 1934. Although most of his work is out of print, his name still has monetary value. Portraits of Marshall can be found for sale on the Internet, not to mention his signature on such documents as a letter involving, of all things, a real estate transaction.