Pseudonym of an unidentified UK or Irish author (?   -?   ) whose satirical Moon-voyage novel, A Trip to the Moon (1727 chap) [for subtitle see Checklist], describes various remarkable sights and beings, initially in the Fantastic Voyage mode of Jonathan Swift, as "McDermot" takes ship to Tenerife before undergoing his abrupt transit into space; the book is dedicated to Captain Lemuel Gulliver. The necessary propulsion for the latter part of his journey is provided by gunpowder, a technique suggesting that the author had also read Cyrano de Bergerac. [JC]

"Murtagh McDermot"

born

died

works

• A Trip to the Moon: By Mr Murtagh McDermot: Containing some Observations and Reflections, Made by him During his Stay in that Planet, upon the Manners of the Inhabitants (Dublin: Printed by and for Christopher Dickson, 1727) [the 1728 first English edition, previously thought to be the first edition, reprints the Dublin edition: binding unknown/]

about the author

• George Locke. Voyages in Space: The Interplanetary Theme in Creative Writing to 1914: A Researcher's Companion (London: Ferret Fantasy, 2011) [nonfiction: p102: demonstrating the existence of the Dublin edition: pb/nonpictorial]

links

• Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Previous versions of this entry

• 01/01/2005
• 20/12/2011
• 25/01/2012
• 27/05/2012
• 03/07/2012
• 20/08/2012
• 11/08/2013
• 01/06/2014
• 25/10/2014
• 30/01/2017