Knowledge (XXG)

Roger Dodsworth (hoax)

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111:; in it, she arranged the story so that he returned to Switzerland to die. The article was probably written in a hurry in order to capitalise on the story; Shelley was known to have submitted a number of other pieces to the magazine, though only one has been definitely identified. In the event, however, it was not published, though it is not clear why one was chosen over the other; as the two contradict each other, they could not both have been used. The story was later resurrected after Shelley's death, and published in 1863 with a preface by the editor explaining that "I did not use it for the purpose originally intended...". 42:
A French newspaper story, published on 28 June 1826, reported "a most extraordinary event": a man, around thirty years old, had been discovered buried under a pile of ice in the Alps. On pulling the body out and bathing it in warm water, the man woke up, and declared himself to be Roger Dodsworth,
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was the focus of a widespread hoax in 1826, in which he was claimed to be a man who had fallen into a coma in the Alps in the late seventeenth century and thawed out to return to life in 1826. It is now best known for the short story of the same name by
47:, born in 1629 and buried under an avalanche in 1660. The story appeared in translation in a London paper a week later, and from there was widely picked up by the British press. 357: 332: 114:
Shelley had considered the idea of a reawakened historical figure as the basis for a tragic story some years earlier, with the unfinished
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characterising the long-dead Dodsworth as a perfect Tory, "a good obsolete man, who never of Locke or Voltaire has been a reader". In
362: 120:, about a citizen of the Roman Republic awakened in the nineteenth century. Her father had likewise drawn on the legend of the 352: 62:
reporting that Dodsworth himself had arrived in London. In mid-July, the story gained a satirical dimension, with a poem by
130:. In the letter, however, she took the idea as a basis for humour rather than tragedy. She later returned to the idea in " 347: 89:
claiming to be from Dodsworth, written in a deliberately archaic style. Other letters included a "correction" in the
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contributed a spurious story of a man who had fallen into a coma in a frozen pond in Westmoreland for three hours.
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In September, by which time the story was widely understood to be a hoax, a series of letters were published in
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Markley, A. A. (1997). "'Laughing That I May Not Weep': Mary Shelley's Short Fiction and Her Novels".
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The story circulated through various newspapers, gaining embellishments on the way, with
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suggesting bathing in milk as an antidote to century-old stiff joints, and
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Robinson, Charles E. (1975). "Mary Shelley and the Roger Dodsworth Hoax".
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Robinson, p. 21. The first appearance in London was in the
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During the widespread interest in Dodsworth in September,
34:, published posthumously in 1863, drawn from the story. 211:, issue 67 vol 17, 1826, pp. 453–458; Robinson, p. 25 107:had written a letter which she submitted to the 207:"Letter from the Gentleman Preserved in Ice". 8: 328:Roger Dodsworth: The Reanimated Englishman 160: 333:Internet Speculative Fiction Database 7: 14: 358:Nonexistent people used in hoaxes 16:Widespread hoax in Europe (1826) 151:– English antiquary (1585–1654) 19:For the English antiquary, see 1: 379: 18: 363:Fictional English people 43:son of the antiquarian 171:, quoted in Robinson. 353:Works by Mary Shelley 331:title listing at the 301:Keats-Shelley Journal 280:Keats-Shelley Journal 265:Markley, pp. 111–114 209:New Monthly Magazine 109:New Monthly Magazine 92:New Monthly Magazine 348:Journalistic hoaxes 238:Robinson, pp. 27–28 220:Robinson, pp. 25–26 198:Robinson, pp. 23–24 180:Robinson, pp. 22–23 132:The Mortal Immortal 370: 316: 295: 266: 263: 257: 254: 248: 245: 239: 236: 230: 227: 221: 218: 212: 205: 199: 196: 190: 187: 181: 178: 172: 165: 378: 377: 373: 372: 371: 369: 368: 367: 338: 337: 323: 298: 277: 274: 269: 264: 260: 256:Robinson, p. 25 255: 251: 247:Robinson, p. 26 246: 242: 237: 233: 229:Robinson, p. 25 228: 224: 219: 215: 206: 202: 197: 193: 189:Robinson, p. 22 188: 184: 179: 175: 166: 162: 158: 149:Roger Dodsworth 144:Great Moon Hoax 140: 101: 80:William Cobbett 45:Roger Dodsworth 40: 27:Roger Dodsworth 24: 21:Roger Dodsworth 17: 12: 11: 5: 376: 374: 366: 365: 360: 355: 350: 340: 339: 336: 335: 322: 321:External links 319: 318: 317: 296: 273: 270: 268: 267: 258: 249: 240: 231: 222: 213: 200: 191: 182: 173: 159: 157: 154: 153: 152: 146: 139: 136: 122:Seven Sleepers 100: 97: 39: 36: 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 375: 364: 361: 359: 356: 354: 351: 349: 346: 345: 343: 334: 330: 329: 325: 324: 320: 314: 310: 306: 302: 297: 293: 289: 285: 281: 276: 275: 271: 262: 259: 253: 250: 244: 241: 235: 232: 226: 223: 217: 214: 210: 204: 201: 195: 192: 186: 183: 177: 174: 170: 164: 161: 155: 150: 147: 145: 142: 141: 137: 135: 133: 129: 128: 123: 119: 118: 112: 110: 106: 98: 96: 94: 93: 88: 83: 81: 77: 76: 71: 70: 66:published in 65: 61: 60: 55: 54: 48: 46: 37: 35: 33: 28: 22: 327: 304: 300: 283: 279: 261: 252: 243: 234: 225: 216: 208: 203: 194: 185: 176: 168: 163: 125: 115: 113: 108: 105:Mary Shelley 102: 90: 86: 84: 73: 67: 64:Thomas Moore 57: 53:The Scotsman 51: 49: 41: 32:Mary Shelley 26: 25: 99:Short story 342:Categories 307:: 97–124. 272:References 127:Mandeville 286:: 20–28. 169:New Times 87:John Bull 69:The Times 59:John Bull 313:30210370 292:30212770 138:See also 117:Valerius 75:The Sun 311:  290:  309:JSTOR 288:JSTOR 156:Notes 38:Hoax 124:in 344:: 305:46 303:. 284:24 282:. 78:, 315:. 294:. 23:.

Index

Roger Dodsworth
Mary Shelley
Roger Dodsworth
The Scotsman
John Bull
Thomas Moore
The Times
The Sun
William Cobbett
New Monthly Magazine
Mary Shelley
Valerius
Seven Sleepers
Mandeville
The Mortal Immortal
Great Moon Hoax
Roger Dodsworth
JSTOR
30212770
JSTOR
30210370
Roger Dodsworth: The Reanimated Englishman
Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Categories
Journalistic hoaxes
Works by Mary Shelley
Nonexistent people used in hoaxes
Fictional English people

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