The Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon and Sun

In The Other World, French dramatist Cyrano de Bergerac tells of his fictional attempts to reach a lunar civilization that sees the Earth as its own moon, and the curious beings he find when he finally reaches there. This satirical novel, poking fun at the social and political mores of the time, is one of the earliest science fiction stories – including the first envisioning of a rocket-powered space flight, all the way back in 1657! – and inspired early science fiction including Jonathan Swift’s story Gulliver’s Travels. An innovative and influential work.