C. I. Defontenay

C.I. Defontenay (1814-1856) is the working name of Charlemagne Ischir Defontenay for his writing. He is seen as an early exponent of French science fiction writer. His 1854 Star, ou Psi Cassiopeéa is seen by some as early space opera. Others see the book as a predecessor of Olaf Stapledon. It describes the discovery in the Himalayas of a manuscript describing the alien "Star people" of Cassiopeia. The translations into English have traditionally been deemed inferior to the French original.

His accomplishments in his own name include being a nineteenth century pioneer in plastic surgery. He was a disciple of Fourier and Hoffman. His thoughts show his philosophical kinship with those thinkers.

References and links

 * The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
 * Publishers picture and brief information on the book
 * Project MUSE, restricted Access
 * Science Fiction studies article