Liquid History

Historical Background Note for Volume 1, Chapter 14: The 1825 Perrier-Jouët champagne Mrs. Mackenzie retrieves from the wine cellar is historically accurate, and would have been a very fine fifty-two-year-old bottle of champagne when Magnetron smashed it across the bow of the Caelestis. Indeed, one of the last remaining bottles of this vintage was uncorked in 2009 for a “liquid history” tasting by wine experts, one of whom described the still-bubbly libation as “generous with an intense nose.”

Read more about Perrier-Jouët champagne and its history at:

• Atlas of Wineries: Winery history
• Wallpaper.com: Brand history
• BBC News: News account of "liquid history" tasting

1877: A Space Oddity

Historical Background Note for Volume 1, Chapter 13: Although Magnetron marks September 30, 1877 as the date of the first manned spaceflight, history records that the first manmade object in space was a V-2 rocket launched by Germany in October of 1942, some 65 years after Magnetron’s notable—but secret—achievement. History credits Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin as the first man in space in 1961.  He took his entire body with him.

Read more about early spaceflight at:

• National Geographic
• RussianSpaceWeb.com
• Sea and Sky

Neuroelectrical Pioneers

Historical Background Note for Volume 1, Chapter 10: Magnetron’s remarks regarding “the brain’s ability to direct the body with small electrical discharges” have a historical context dating back to Luigi Galvani’s 18th Century frog-leg experiments in “animal electricity,” which in turn spurred Alessandro Volta to invent the first battery. In Magnetron’s time, Liverpool physician Richard Caton had observed electrical activity in animal brains, although the first electroencephalogram was not recorded until 1912.

Read more about Galvani, Volta, and Caton here:

• Luigi Galvani
• Alessandro Volta
• Richard Caton

A Very Short Voodoo Glossary

Historical Background Note for Volume 1, Chapters 8-9: Petión’s vodou (voodoo) lingo represents reasonably accurate usage of such terms and “reasoning” on such topics. A houngan is a vodou priest, whereas a bokor delves into the darker aspects, including the reanimation of the dead. The lwa (also called loa), or spirit, is not analogous to a person’s “soul,” as in major religions, but is closer to an angel, an intermediary entity between humans and Bondye, the Creator. Lwas are summoned by a vodou priest, whereupon they “mount” a nearby participant, in this case, the disembodied head of Dr. Hogalum.

Read more about voodoo at:

• Wikipedia
• HowStuffWorks.com
• The Witches' Voice

Thoreau's Famous Last Words

Historical Background Note for Volume 1, Chapter 5: The quotation on Dr. Hogalum’s headstone was indeed uttered by Henry David Thoreau, who died at the age of 44 of tuberculosis.  Although quite ill, he had continued to write extensively and take visitors, including the Quaker abolitionist Parker Pillsbury, who reportedly prompted him for theories on the afterlife, to which he replied, “Oh, one world at a time.”  Thoreau died a few days later, uttering his final words: "Moose… Indian."

Read more about Henry David Thoreau at:

• Wikipedia
• The Walden Woods Project
• The Thoreau Society

Uncommonly Tenacious Soldiers

Historical Background Note for Volume 1, Chapter 5: The character General Lucian Southwick was inspired by resolute Confederate General Joseph Shelby, Texas Governor Pendleton Murrah, and others who similarly kept fighting well after the Civil War had drawn to a close; also by Japanese Lt. Hiroo Onoda, who refused to believe that World War II had ended and fought the good fight for twenty-nine years after his comrades had called it quits.

Read more about these uncommonly tenacious soldiers:

• Joseph Shelby
• Pendleton Murrah
• Hiroo Onoda

Thrale's Russian Imperial Stout

Historical Background Note for Volume 1, Chapter 2: The Thrale’s Russian Imperial Stout beer mentioned in regards to Magnetron's initiation ritual may be an anachronism, as Henry Thrale’s Anchor Brewery was sold after his death to Barclay’s of banking fame.  Regrettably, the author’s research failed to determine when the name of this historic brew was changed, as eventually came to pass.  Also, some beer historians are skeptical that the designation “Russian Imperial Stout” was used before 1900. In the end, the lyrical quality of "Thrale’s Russian Imperial Stout" was deemed too alluring to resist and survived an otherwise ruthless editing session.

Read more about Thrale’s, the Anchor Brewery and Russian imperial stouts at:

• Thrale.com
• Bankside Then and Now
• Total Wine Beer Guide

Note: The oft-repeated story of the Czar's original order of porter arriving in St. Petersburg spoiled, prompting the brewery to crank up the alcohol content as a preservative measure, is believed by some beer historians to be inaccurate.

Lasiodora parahybana tarantula

Historical Background Note for Volume 1, Chapter 2: The Lasiodora parahybana tarantula used in Magnetron’s initiation ritual is an exceptionally large spider also known as the Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-eating Tarantula. L. parahybana have been known to sport one-inch fangs and reach leg spans in excess of eleven inches.  As a point of historical fact, the L. parahybana was not discovered by zoologists until 1917, but the spiny creature proved too compelling to be edited from the final manuscript, a rare literary instance of an anachronistic arachnid.

Read more about the Lasiodora parahybana tarantula at:

• Wikipedia
• ARKive.org
• WAZA.org (World Assoc. of Zoos and Aquariums)

The Battle of Chancellorsville

Historical Background Note for Volume 1, Chapter 2: Phineas Magnetron refers to a "corpse-littered battlefield," which  is one of several such American Civil War battlefields of the Battle of Chancellorsville, fought in Virginia in early May of 1863. This prolonged, bloody engagement was a decisive victory for Robert E. Lee’s Northern Virginia Army over Hooker’s much larger infantry and cavalry forces. Unfortunately for the South, storied general Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded in the battle as well.

Read more about the Battle of Chancellorsville at:

• Wikipedia
• Civilwar.org (The Civil War Trust)
• History.com