Montgomery, Frances Trego
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1858-1925) US author, mostly of books for children, best known for tales about Billy Whiskers, a goat. Her Electric Elephant sequence – The Wonderful Electric Elephant (1903) and On a Lark to the Planets: A Sequel to the "Wonderful Electric Elephant" (1904) – describes in a Dime-Novel manner the Edisonade of a young man who encounters an elephant in the Rockies and immediately tries to kill it, only to discover that it is mechanical, hollow, and contains its inventor (see Invention), who seems to be dying and wills it to him. The elephant turns out to be capable of various forms of Transportation, including Space Flight; it also serves as a heavily armed and armoured flying Mecha, which the protagonist uses to electrocute Native Americans to impress his fiancée. After causing some further disruptions the two marry, and continue to traverse the planet; in the sequel they visit Venus, Mars and the Outer Planets, all described in terms best befitting astrology (see Pseudoscience). The original inventor of the elephant then reappears and takes them on a guided tour of the Milky Way. [JC]
Frances Trego Montgomery
born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 18 July 1858
died on board SS Franconia at sea between Hong Kong and Shanghai: 5 April 1925
works
series
Electric Elephant
- The Wonderful Electric Elephant (Akron, Ohio: The Saalfield Publishing Co, 1903) [Electric Elephant: hb/C M Coolidge]
- On a Lark to the Planets: A Sequel to the "Wonderful Electric Elephant" (Akron, Ohio: The Saalfield Publishing Co, 1904) [Electric Elephant: hb/Winifred E Elrod]
links
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