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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Alexandre Lourenço recounts his daring adventures with his older brother, the inventor Bartolomeu, aboard their wildly innovative airship, the Passarola, or "great bird." After finding rich patrons in Lisbon to fund Bartolomeu's flight obsession, they make their successful maiden voyage on the vacuum-pumped Passarola in 1731 in the presence of His Majesty João V. However, the brothers run afoul of Cardinal Conti's Inquisition and flee to France, where they are championed by the Enlightenment regime of Louis XV, as long as their airship can serve his purposes. Commissioned by the Académie des Sciences to measure distances to the polar circle, the brothers set out on a harrowing trek into the extreme northern regions, where Alex is beset by hallucinations of a splendid phantom city, and they must turn back. They cannot offer indisputable proof of what they saw during their exploration, so, disheartened they separate—Alex back to Brazil, to lead a mediocre existence, and Bartolomeu off to incredible adventures in India and beyond.'
Source: Publisher's Weekly.
Exhibitions
Notes
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Dedication: For Karen
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Steampunk Note: This work centres around a steampunk flying ship in an eighteenth century world. Interestingly, the novel does not take British culture as its primary inspiration, unlike many other steampunk works, instead dealing with Brazilian, Spanish, and French culture and history.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Getting It Right the First Time
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , July vol. 2 no. 6 2007; (p. 16-17)
— Review of Affection : A Novel 2005 single work novel ; Passarola Rising 2006 single work novel ; Feather Man 2007 single work novel ; The Scandal of the Season 2007 single work novel -
[Review] Passarola Rising
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Review of Contemporary Fiction , Fall vol. 26 no. 3 2006; (p. 146)
— Review of Passarola Rising 2006 single work novel -
The Peers Review : Bright Diners
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Limelight , May 2006; (p. 24)
— Review of Passarola Rising 2006 single work novel -
Perfectly Placed
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 15 April 2006; (p. 10)
— Review of Out of Place 2006 single work novel ; Passarola Rising 2006 single work novel -
Getting High
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 280 2006; (p. 42)
— Review of Passarola Rising 2006 single work novel
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Man of the Flying Ship
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 4 - 5 February 2006; (p. 4)
— Review of Passarola Rising 2006 single work novel -
Following in Sinbad's Footsteps
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 18 February 2006; (p. 26)
— Review of Passarola Rising 2006 single work novel -
[Review] Passarola Rising
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , February vol. 85 no. 7 2006; (p. 48)
— Review of Passarola Rising 2006 single work novel -
Despite High Hopes and Hot Air, a Historical Fable Fails to Take Off
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25-26 February 2006; (p. 12-13)
— Review of Passarola Rising 2006 single work novel -
Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 March 2006; (p. 12)
— Review of Passarola Rising 2006 single work novel -
Dreams of Flying
2006
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 February 2006; (p. 20-21) -
A Writer's Duty to Spread His Wings
2006
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Age , 11 February 2006; (p. 26-27)
Awards
- Europe,
- 1700-1799
