(1863-1922) UK author whose first sf novel, The Betrothal of James (1898), attempts to extract some humour from the fact that female cats must be sacrificed in the production of a Rejuvenation pill. Thuka of the Moon (1906), which seems to have been inspired by the early work of Lord Dunsany, is a fantasy in which lunar deities amuse themselves by creating various humanlike beings, and awkwardly prefigures Philip José Farmer's World of Tiers Pocket-Universe sequence. In The Electric Man: Being the One Act Version of the Three-Act Comedy (performed November 1906; 1910 chap), a play, a primitive Robot is mistaken for the hero, with farcical consequences; the hints of more recent concerns with Identity issues when the robot replaces its human twin are visible mostly in hindsight. [JC]
Robert Charles Hannan
born Glasgow, Scotland: 28 August 1863
died London: 10 January 1922
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