TOMPSON, David (pseud.)

Histoire d'un peuple nouveau, ou Découverte d'une Isle...

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Societe de Libraires, London, 1757. Octavo, uncut; a beautiful copy in original blue paper wrappers. Second edition. Although describing itself as translated from the English, Gove regards this claim as highly suspect: such devices were of course frequently used to add authenticity to imaginary voyage accounts.

The tale of the voyage of the Boston through the South Seas is also a particularly good example of the way in which the wholly imagined land is given credence by juxtaposition with already familiar lands. Thus, the voyage starts uncontroversially enough by describing parts of Batavia and Ceylon, to lend credence to the lengthy account of the 'Isle de la Raison,' a deistic utopia famous for apple cider, enlightened calm and polygamy. Captain Tompson and his crew are delighted. On the return journey from China, their buoyant enthusiasm leads to the implementation of a microcosm of the island on board the Boston itself: the eight men and four women on board living proof of the most rational marital unit. Rather amused himself, Manuel discusses the mathematical precision with which the model has been worked out, citing the cheerful utopians' belief that 'woman has received from nature a greater aptitude for and a stronger tendency toward plurality'.

Introducing some of the more controversial aspects of this novel, the narrator claims that he had no intention of making the tale (which, of course, he heard from a widely-travelled English friend) public, but some unscrupulous fiend stole part of the manuscript and thus forced his hand.
Manuel, Utopian Thought, p. 537.

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