author
F. H. (Frederic H.) Sidney
b. 1875
A little-known early science-fiction writer, this author is remembered for a playful 1919 tale that sends an ordinary fisherman on a strange trip to Mars. The surviving record is thin, which only adds to the story's pulpy charm.
1 Audiobook
A fishing trip on the planet Mars
by F. H. (Frederic H.) Sidney
About the author
Published as F. H. Sidney, Frederic H. Sidney is an obscure American author associated with the short story A Fishing Trip on the Planet Mars. The story appeared in the May 1919 issue of Overland Monthly and has since been preserved by Project Gutenberg, LibriVox, and the Internet Archive.
Biographical details are scarce, but genealogical records identify a Frederick Holbrook Sidney, born June 13, 1875, in Provincetown, Massachusetts. A family-history source also describes a Frederic H. Sidney of Wakefield as someone who had worked as an author, telegrapher, traveler, and joiner, though the surviving evidence is limited and should be treated with caution.
What remains clear is that Sidney left behind a memorable curiosity from the early days of speculative fiction. A Fishing Trip on the Planet Mars blends humor, fantasy, and the period's fascination with Mars into a light, imaginative adventure.