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Cover of The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man

The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man

R. S.

First published 1751
Publisher J. Robinson and R. Dodsley
Format Hardcover
Type Novel
Pages xiii+287+295
Price 6/-

  • Originally published in two volumes, and often reprinted similarly in two volumes. However no single volume portion (excepting the Gutenberg first half) has been published singly.
  • Some data from Bleiler's "Science-Fiction: The Early Years", other data as sourced below.
  • The full text and images of the first edition Volume 1 and Volume 2 are available at Google Books sourced from The University of Michigan.
  • The full text and images of the first edition Volume 1 and Volume 2 are available at The HathiTrust Digital Library sourced from The University of Michigan.
  • There is some historical confusion as to the earliest publication date. The first edition volumes themselves appear to clearly state 1751 (MDCCLI), however it appears in a December Catalog from 1750. Possibly this was an early instance of items released early, or perhaps only evidence that it was advertised prior to the printed date of publication. Some historical discussion of this confusion can be seen on page 421 of the 1878 publication 'Bibliotheca Cornubiensis: P-Z'. In that same commentary there is discussion of evidence which suggests that the Anonymous authorship by "R. S." was a publication error, instead it may have been intended to be printed as by "R. P." based on manuscripts and contracts discovered in the mid 1800's. As additional supporting evidence, the Dedication is clearly signed as by "R. P.". Pages 421 and 422 at that link have an extensive bibliography of later printings, that may not all be recorded in the ISFDB.
  • Only volume one of the Reeves and Turner edition is on available at Project Gutenberg but it is from an unexpurgated edition.
  • Complete title is The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins; A Cornish Man however over the centuries the Canonical Title has been shortened, dropping "A Cornish Man".

  • Published in two volumes.
  • The full text and images of this edition are available at The HathiTrust Digital Library: Vol. I and Vol. II
  • The scan is of the title page of the first volume.
  • Price data from London Magazine, Volume 19, Page 576 within a feature titled 'The Monthly Catalogue for December 1750'.

No ISBN on record — searching by title and author.

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Title Year Publisher Format Type Catalog ID Cover Artist Pages
The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man: Relating Particularly, His Shipwreck Near the South Pole; His Wonderful Passage Thro' a Subterraneous Cavern Into a Kind of New World; His There Meeting with a Gawry or Flying Woman, Whose Life He Preserv'd, and Afterwards Married Her; His Extraordinary Conveyance to the Country of Glums and Gawrys, or Men and Women That Fly. Likewise a Description of This Strange Country, with the Laws, Customs, and Manners of Its Inhabitants, and the Author's Remarkable Transactions Among Them. Taken from His Own Mouth, in His Passage to England, from Off Cape Horn in America, in the Ship Hector. With an Introduction, Giving an Account of the Surprizing Manner of His Coming on Board That Vessel, and his Death on His Landing at Plymouth in the Year 1739 1751 George Faulkner Hardcover Novel
The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, A Cornish Man: Relating Particularly, His Shipwreck Near the South Pole; His Wonderful Passage Thro' a Subterraneous Cavern Into a Kind of New World; His There Meeting with a Gawry or Flying Woman, Whose Life He Preserv'd, and Afterwards Married Her; His Extraordinary Conveyance to the Country of Glums and Gawrys, or Men and Women That Fly. Likewise a Description of This Strange Country, with the Laws, Customs, and Manners of Its Inhabitants, and the Author's Remarkable Transactions Among Them. Taken from His Own Mouth, in His Passage to England, from Off Cape Horn in America, in the Ship Hector. With an Introduction, Giving an Account of the Surprizing Manner of His Coming on Board That Vessel, and his Death on His Landing at Plymouth in the Year 1739 1784 Berwick Hardcover Novel 240+240
The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man: Taken from His Own Mouth, in His Passage to England, from Off Cape Horn in America, in the Ship Hector 1844 John W. Parker Hardcover Novel 263