GRIFFITH, George

   Working name of UK traveller, journalist and writer George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones (1857-1906), the son of a clergyman and one of the most influential sf writers of his time. He appeared frequently in the pre-sf MAGAZINES and PULP MAGAZINES, particularly PEARSON'S WEEKLY and PEARSON'SMAGAZINE, writing as GG or, for some short stories, as Levin Carnac. He was instrumental in the transformation of the future- WAR novel to a more sensational form, capitalizing on contemporary political anxiety; and he helped make up a literary coterie, including William LE QUEUX, M.P. SHIEL and Louis TRACY, which specialized in the genre.GG first established himself with The Angel of the Revolution (1893 Pearson's Weekly; rev 1893) and its sequel Olga Romanoff (1893-4 Pearson's Weekly as "The Syren of the Skies"; rev 1894). In the first a revolutionary organization equipped withaerial battleships creates a reformed society under the government of a world federation; the second, set 125 years later, describes the upheaval which transforms this UTOPIAN state to one of total anarchy. Both are remarkable for their foresight of battle tactics in air warfare and for their anticipation of radar, sonar and nuclear weapons. They include elements which would only later become commonplace, notably the struggle by international cartels for world domination and the apocalyptic visions of Armageddon on Earth and of DISASTER from the heavens by comet. These elements can be found also in The Outlaws of the Air (1894-5 Short Stories; rev 1895), Gambles with Destiny (coll 1898), The Great PirateSyndicate (1898 Pick-Me-Up; rev 1899), The Lake of Gold (1903), A Woman Against the World (1903), The World Masters (1903), The Stolen Submarine (1904), The Great Weather Syndicate (1906), The World Peril of 1910 (1907) and The Lord of Labour (1911).From early in his career GG was overshadowed by H.G. WELLS, a fact which caused him to diversify his work, in search of critical acclaim. Such praise never came, although he produced notable examples of several themes: IMMORTALITY featured in Valdar the Oft-Born (1895 Pearson's Weekly; rev 1895) and Captain Ishmael (1901), the latteralso being an early example of the PARALLEL-WORLDS theme; the LOST-WORLD theme in The Romance of Golden Star (1895 Short Stories as "Golden Star"; rev 1897), The Virgin of the Sun (1898) and A Criminal Croesus (1904); SPACE FLIGHT in A Honeymoon in Space (1900 Pearson's Magazine as "Storiesof Other Worlds"; exp 1901); the fourth DIMENSION in The Mummy and Miss Nitrocris (fixup 1906; vt The Mummy and the Girl UK); telepathy in AMayfair Magician (1905; vt The Man with Three Eyes UK); RELIGION in The Missionary (1902); and the supernatural in Denver's Double (1901), The White Witch of Mayfair (1902) and The Destined Maid (1908).GG's influence on contemporary UK sf was extensive, from E. Douglas FAWCETT's Hartmann the Anarchist (1893) through to Cyril Seymour's Comet Chaos (1906) and John MASTIN's The Stolen Planet (1906), and can still be seen today, as inMichael MOORCOCK's 19th-century pastiches. (Since GG's anti-US stance precluded US publication of many of his works, his influence there has been negligible.) Several of his novels have been reprinted in recent times, as well as a collection of unreprinted stories, The Raid of "Le Vengeur" (coll 1974) ed George LOCKE.

   JE

   Other works: Briton or Boer? (1897); The Gold Finder (1898); The Justice of Revenge (1901); The Sacred Skull (1908).

   About the author: "War: Warriors of If" in Strange Horizons: The Spectrum of Science Fiction (1976) by Sam MOSKOWITZ.

   See also: EDISONADE; END OF THE WORLD; HISTORY OF SF; MARS; MERCURY; MOON; NEAR FUTURE; NUCLEAR POWER; POLITICS; PROTO SCIENCE FICTION; REINCARNATION; TECHNOLOGY; TRANSPORTATION; VENUS; WEAPONS.