Luis Philip Senarens

Background

Luis P. Senarens was born on April 24, 1863, in Brooklyn, New York, the United States.

Education

Senarens studied law at St. John's College in Brooklyn.

Career

Senarens began writing in 1881, at age sixteen. His first “Frank Reade, Jr." volume, Frank Reade, Jr. and His Steam Wonder, was published in 1884. Senarens, under the pseudonym “NONAME,” took over the writing of the serial from Harry Enton, who had devised the character of Frank, Sr., and shaped the basic pattern the adventures would fall into. Senarens introduced Frank, Jr., then later created Jack Wright, another boy inventor - the two young men would eventually share space in the same volume, racing each other around the world for a ten thousand dollar award.

While Senarens is recognized by critics as a progenitor of the science fiction genre, and an influence in the development of children’s science fiction, in particular, he was also no stylist - his writing was choppy and formulaic. In addition, his prose embodied the worst characteristics of the dime-novel tradition such as “sadism, ethnic rancor, factual ignorance, and an exploitation mentality,” according to a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Nevertheless, Senarens wrote some two thousand stories, under at least twenty-seven pseudonyms.

In 1891 Senarens introduced the “Jack Wright” series, in which the title character’s specialty was inventing submarines. These novels were similar to the “Frank Reade, Jr.” stories, with titles like Jack Wright and His Electric Air Schooner; or, The Mystery of 0 Magic Mine and Jack Wright among the Demons of the Ocean with His Electric Sea-Fighter. Senarens tried several other series, one writing as Police Captain Howard, and kept up both the boy inventor serials until 1904, when dime-novel readership dried up.

Senarens also wrote two nonfiction books. How to Become a Naval Cadet and How to Become a West Point Military Cadet, before serving as the managing editor for the Tousey publications. He edited the weekly Motion Picture Stories and wrote film scenarios until his retirement in 1923.

Achievements

• Luis P. Senarens was known as “the American Jules Verne” for his use of fantastic scientific inventions in the two series of stories that characterize the bulk of his career. Overall, Senarens has written about 2,000 stories, which made him one of the most prolific writers in the early days of science fiction.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Transient Lake or Frank Reade Jr.'s Adventures in a Mysterious Country

    (This collection of literature attempts to compile many of...)

    1904
  • Frank Reade, Jr. And His Engine of the Clouds or Chased Around the World in the Sky

    (This collection of literature attempts to compile many of...)

    1893
  • The Abandoned Country

    (Around 1882, Senarens began writing new stories in the Fr...)

    1896
  • Frank Reade Jr.'s Submarine Boat

    (Frank Reade was the protagonist of a series of dime novel...)

    1902
  • Astray in the Selvas, or the Wild Experiences of Frank Reade, Jr., in South America

    (Excerpt from Astray in the Selvas, or the Wild Experience...)

    1895
  • Across the Desert of Fire, or Frank Reade, Jr. 'S Marvelous Trip in a Strange Country

    (Excerpt from Across the Desert of Fire, or Frank Reade, J...)

    1896
  • Afloat in a Sunken Forest, or Frank Reade, Jr. 's Submarine Cruise

    (Excerpt from Afloat in a Sunken Forest, or Frank Reade, J...)

    1896
  • The Mysterious Mirage, or Frank Reade, Jr. 's Desert Search for a Secret City

    (Excerpt from The Mysterious Mirage, or Frank Reade, Jr. '...)

    1895
  • Beyond the Gold Coast, or Frank Reade, Jr. 's Overland Trip

    (Excerpt from Beyond the Gold Coast, or Frank Reade, Jr. '...)

    1896
  • The Mysterious Brand, or Frank Reade, Jr., Solving a Mexican Mystery: A Story of the Wild Southwest

    (Excerpt from The Mysterious Brand, or Frank Reade, Jr., S...)

    1897
  • Over Two Continents, or Frank Reade, Jr. 's Long Distance Flight

    (Excerpt from Over Two Continents, or Frank Reade, Jr. 'S ...)

    1896
  • The Lost Oasis, or with Frank Reade, Jr., in the Australian Desert: An Exciting Story of the Antipodes

    (Excerpt from The Lost Oasis, or With Frank Reade, Jr., In...)

    1898
  • Across Australia with Frank Reade, Jr., in His New Electric Car

    (Excerpt from Across Australia With Frank Reade, Jr., In H...)

    1895
  • In the Gran Chaco, or Frank Reade, Jr., in Search of a Missing Man

    (Excerpt from In the Gran Chaco, or Frank Reade, Jr., In S...)

    1887
  • The Sinking Star, or Frank Reade, Jr. 's Trip Into Space with His New Air-Ship Saturn

    (Excerpt from The Sinking Star, or Frank Reade, Jr. 'S Tri...)

  • Over the Orient, or Frank Reade, Jr. 's Travels in Turkey

    (Excerpt from Over the Orient, or Frank Reade, Jr. 'S Trav...)

    1897
  • The Magic Mine, or Frank Reade, Jr. 's Trip Up the Yukon with His Electric Combination Traveller: A Wonderful Story of Northern Gold Fields

    (Excerpt from The Magic Mine, or Frank Reade, Jr. 'S Trip ...)

    1898
  • Frank Reade, Jr., and His New Steam Man

    ("Frank Reade, Jr., and His New Steam Man" tells the thril...)

    1892
  • The Sunken Isthmus 1904
  • The Galleon's Gold 1904
  • Jack Wright and His Electric Stage 1894
  • Frank Reade, Jr.'s Search for the Silver Whale 1894
  • From Tropic to Tropic, or Frank Reade, Jr. 's Tour with His Bicycle Car 1895

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• "Senarens’ contribution to science fiction is in his early and imaginative use of so many scientific marvels harnessed for popular consumption to a mass market. Had it not been for the wonders of Senarens there might have been no Tom Swift." - J. Randolph Cox

Connections

Senarens got married in 1895 and had a son and a daughter.

References

• Contemporary Authors, Vol. 164
  1998