The Electric Life

Electricity is the Great Slave. Breath of the universe, fluid running through the Earth's veins. It wanders in space in dazzling zigzags, scratching the immensities of the ether. Now it has been seized, chained, and tamed.” The Electric Life (1893).

Step into the retro-futuristic world of Albert Robida (1848-1926), the astonishingly prolific French visionary who created 60,000+ illustrations and authored nearly 80 books. Part Jules Verne, part Voltaire, Robida's witty satire imagines a 1950s Paris where flying machines dock atop cathedrals and families argue via video-telephones, while high powered professionals waste away from electric life exhaustion.

The Electric Life is his masterpiece. Here's a new and original translation from the French, refined and expanded for an English-speaking audience. The book contains over 100 plates of Robida's original artwork in what is arguably the first ever science fiction graphic novel, now modernized for 2025.

Robida's humorous sarcasm masks serious warnings, where aero-scooter collisions are commonplace, and scientists deploy germ warfare for profit, and frazzled workers retreat to recreated 19th-century villages for respite. A pure joy to read, and view, it entertained Belle Époque readers while prophetically alerting them of modernity's seductive perils.

In this one of a kind, updated and expanded edition you'll enjoy:

100+ original illustrations, sharpened and brightened for print Improved translation and readability to enhance the story, settings and characters Chapter notes to contextualize Robida's satire and historical references New introduction, author biography and full bibliography
Time Warp Editions is committed to preserving and refining classic works of literature to be accessible for a modern audience.