Man in the Moone and Nuncius Inanimatus

by Francis Godwin

"The Man in the Moone: Or, A Discourse Of a Voyage thither: By F.G. B. of H. To which is added Nuncius Inanimatus, written in Latin by the fame Author, and now Englifhed by a Perfon of Worth. The Second Edition. London, Printed for Joshua Kirten, at the Signe of the Kings Arms in St. Paul's Churchyard"

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1657

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_...

Reviews

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

17th century science fiction: how can you not love it? The main character, Gonsales, goes to the moon by harnessing a team of wild swans (how else??). En route he encounters a band of demons who give him food and wine which he later discovers to be dried leaves and "horse-piss," a sort of prefiguring of later stories of leprechaun gold and fairy food which aren't what they appear. On the moon he discovers the Lunars, a race of humanoid beings who communicate via singing. Particularly curious are the stones he brings back to Earth with him, one of which is a kind of any-gravity device.

Several other lunar voyage books were written about this time, including one by John Donne of all people in which he invents a "lunatic church" on the moon founded by Lucifer and the Jesuits. Have to track that one down.