True History Decrypted

One of the translators of Lucian, Thomas Francklin, bemoaned in his introduction to True History, "We cannot but lament that the humor of many of the references has been lost to us; therefore, Lucian's True History cannot be half as pleasurable as when it was first written, but there are enough remaining allusions which we understand to secure it from being unrelatable." This work, True History Decrypted, attempts to take those "remaining allusions" and make them relatable to the...
More Description

One of the translators of Lucian, Thomas Francklin, bemoaned in his introduction to True History, "We cannot but lament that the humor of many of the references has been lost to us; therefore, Lucian's True History cannot be half as pleasurable as when it was first written, but there are enough remaining allusions which we understand to secure it from being unrelatable." This work, True History Decrypted, attempts to take those "remaining allusions" and make them relatable to the modern reader. Modern audiences rarely have the background to fully understand all of the allusions made in True History and classical texts in general and it would be a shame if there was not a book that could help guide them through each section and provide the necessary background to fully enjoy the work.This book takes a two pronged approach to understanding True History: (1) provide extensive commentary section-by-section, addressing the main themes and ideas of the work as the reader goes along; (2) provide an Appendix of works that Lucian may have been acclimated to and used as a basis for the parody found in True History. With these two eyes, the True History becomes a great deal more enjoyable and easier to comprehend. There is no doubt that True History is Lucian's most famous and influential work. It has influenced works like More's Utopia and Swift's Gulliver's Travels. True History masquerades as a factual, cold truthful account of the travels of the narrator and his companions. They travel to the moon and back, to different islands like the Island of Cheese and Island of the Damned; they meet a cast of strange, twisted characters throughout, some more fanciful than others. Underneath it all, Lucian is really questioning the idea of truth found in factual writing, and is trying to show the impossibility of absolute truth in writing. If the purpose of satire is improve the condition of a certain part of society, then Lucian is trying to call out some of the more grossly inaccurate worldly depictions in order to improve, all around, truth in literature, history, and entertainment.To readers of the work, there are a few things to keep in mind when reading:(1) The narrator moves so quickly from one dream-like scene to the next and does not allow the reader to fully absorb the material and has the reader wanting for more.(2) The way in which True History is written is so simple that the narrator appears to believe every word he is writing down.(3) The narrator glosses over some really obscenely ridiculous material and speaks of them as almost daily occurrences.(4) The reader is kept interested at the end of the book. There is a promise of True History II. By the end, does it matter if the material is true or false if the stories are so enrapturing?