The World of Mercury

The World of Mercury was first published in 1750 before Voltaire’s MicromÃ(c)gas (1752) or Tiphaigne’s Amilec (1753). In developing his world, Béthune shaped one of the few “Creationist fantasies” entirely unaffected by religious dogma. His Mercury shines with originality, adventurousness and, especially, bizarrerie. The description of the aerial conflict between the defenders of Mercury’s Great Mountain and the monstrous invaders from the “crust” expelled from the Sun is triumphantly eccentric, a match in its colorful extravagance for any space battle featured in the great tradition of 20th century space opera.