Doctor Jones' Picnic

Name: Doctor Jones' Picnic
Author: S. E. Chapman

by S. E. Chapman

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Language: en2,996 downloads on Project Gutenberg

Subjects

Science fiction Imaginary wars and battles -- Fiction

In: Science-Fiction & Fantasy·Adventure·Novels

Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #27434.

About this book

Doctor Jones' Picnic is a speculative adventure that blends science‑fiction imagination with a quasi‑romantic manifesto. The opening pages present a self‑conscious author’s preface, in which Samuel E. Chapman, M.D., frames his work as a “romance” that daringly tackles divine matters and proposes a grand cure for humanity’s ills. The narrative then launches into a series of numbered chapters, beginning with “Figures don’t lie,” where Dr. Jones, a physician‑inventor, critiques past Arctic expeditions and sketches an audacious plan: a massive aluminum globe that floats by heating its interior, turning an Arctic trek into a comfortable picnic. The dialogue with his friend Denison sets up the central conflict, whether such a fantastical air‑ship can be funded, steered, or even built, while the chapter titles promise a sprawling, episodic journey through imagined battles, polar discoveries, and philosophical debates.

The prose reflects the late‑nineteenth‑century penchant for grandiloquent, didactic storytelling, mixing earnest moralizing with detailed technical speculation. Chapman’s voice is earnest and rhetorical, often addressing a “thinking man” and invoking biblical and philosophical references. Readers who enjoy early science‑fiction that leans heavily on speculative engineering, period‑style optimism, and a blend of adventure with social commentary will find this work engaging. It appeals especially to those fascinated by Victorian‑era visions of progress, the romance of exploration, and the quirky, earnest attempts to reconcile scientific ingenuity with moral imperatives.

Characters in Doctor Jones' Picnic

Dr. JonesMiddle‑aged Victorian physician with round spectacles, trimmed beard, waistcoat and pocket watch
DenisonGentleman of the 1890s, crisp frock coat, moustache, cravat, holding a leather notebook

The opening · free to read

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PREFACE.

I must confess that I offer this romance to the reading public with no little trepidation. I am fully aware of having transcended the ordinary rules and paths of legitimate romance, and that I have presumed to broach fearlessly the deep things of God. The scope of the work is infinitely beyond the remotest thought of the writer when he began this labor; but as it grew, deepened and broadened upon his hands from day to day, like Noah's dove he could find no rest for the sole of his foot, and found it impossible to stop short of the Millennium.

The author is ready to substantiate the marvelous cures performed by Dr. Jones, for they are cases from practice. One of the objects of this work is to stimulate scientific investigation of the law of cure which guided the worthy Doctor in his selection of the remedy in a given case.

As to whether Silver Cloud and her achievements be possible or not, I am not specially concerned. And whether there are air currents in the "upper deep," as described within these pages, is a matter of little or no consequence. We are desirous of being fair and magnanimous, and will let the burden of proof rest upon the "other fellow."

When we come to the consideration of the means by which the grand finale was brought about, then I stand by my colors, and claim to have delineated the only way "out of the woods" for the suffering world. And, further, the denouement is but the inevitable result of the adoption of Golden Ruleism by the world.

No thinking man can fail to see that there is something fearfully and radically wrong in this world of ours. The few are getting too much, and the millions are getting far too little. The cry of the poor fills the earth, and many are the plans that have been devised for the relief of the innumerable sufferers; but there is an essential defect in each of them, nor is there relief to be obtained short of the power of Almighty God. This is fully comprehended in what we have been pleased to call Golden Ruleism, in the 2nd and 3d volumes.

Many students and writers upon the signs of the times take an extremely pessimistic view of the situation, and believe that we shall witness "blood to the horses' bridles." No one can deny that things are desperately bad, and that something must be done soon to relieve the strain or the very worst may be apprehended; yet the author prefers to see things through optimistic eyes, and believes that God will raise up a Moses, (or Doctor Jones, if you please,) who will lead us to a higher and better state than this world has yet ever known. The old adage 'It is always darkest just before dawn,' is beautifully applicable to the present state of the world. So I take courage and launch my book out upon the tempestuous sea of humanity, trusting that it may be welcomed as the harbinger of a better and happier era. I am sure that it bears to the world the olive branch of peace.

As is usual with prefaces, this one is anticipatory and can only be appreciated after one has perused the book. So I make the request of the reader that he re-read it after having become acquainted with the scheme and scope of the work.

This volume is to be immediately followed by volumes two and three, which complete the set.