Skillman, Phil
Entry updated 12 August 2018. Tagged: Author.
(1845-1922) US attorney and author, who also wrote as by Kettle Kettleson. His only novel, A Living Dead Man; Or, the Strange Case of Moses Scott (October-? 1897 The Albany Law Journal as "A Living Dead Man; Or, the Strange Case of Moses Scott: An Accurate and Faithful Narration of the Complications Caused by a Litigant's Return from the Lethean Shore"; 1897 chap), applies supernatural and sf motifs, seemingly without noticing the distinction, to what might seem primarily an Afterlife fantasy [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below]: after a decade in Paradise (located on a planet whose location is not given), Moses Scott learns by telephone (see Communications) that he needs to return to Earth to defend an old friend from an unjust charge. He does so, transiting Venus in the process in something like a locomotive. [JC]
Philander Skillman
born East Germany, New York: 27 October 1845
died Olympia, Washington: 5 July 1922
works
- A Living Dead Man; Or, the Strange Case of Moses Scott (Albany, New York: The Albany Law Journal Company, 1897) [chap: first appeared October-? 1897 The Albany Law Journal as "A Living Dead Man; Or, the Strange Case of Moses Scott: An Accurate and Faithful Narration of the Complications Caused by a Litigant's Return from the Lethean Shore": hb/]
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: p141: pb/nonpictorial]
links
previous versions of this entry