"The Man Who Traveled in Elephants" is a short story written in 1948 by

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...

. It was first published as "The Elephant Circuit" in the October 1957 issue of '' Saturn Magazine''. It later appeared in two Heinlein anthologies, '' The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag'' (also titled ''6xH''; 1959) and '' The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein'' (1999). Though this story was not typical of the subject matter of most of Heinlein's writing, it was Heinlein's favorite. It has had a mixed reception compared to his other works.

Spider Robinson Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948) is an American-Canadian science fiction author. He has won a number of awards for his hard science fiction and humorous stories, including the Hugo Award 1977 and 1983, and another Hugo with his co-author ...

selected it as one of his life-time favorite stories, and included it in his anthology ''Best of All Possible Worlds'' on that basis.

Alexei Panshin Alexei Panshin (August 14, 1940 – August 21, 2022) was an American writer and science fiction critic. He wrote several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award–winning novel ''Rite of Passage (Panshin), Rite of Pas ...

said that the story "...is a mistake, a sloppy, sentimental fantasy that I suspect was written at the very beginning of Heinlein's career and then went without a buyer until 1957".a chapter fro
''Heinlein in Dimension''
by Panshin. The story can be viewed as an early manifestation of Heinlein's World as Myth, which featured prominently in his last novels. The protagonist is a widower who once was a traveling salesman working with his wife. The two of them continued to travel after

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

, scouting territory in order to sell

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s. It becomes clear that these travels were not seriously intended to sell elephants, but were rather a way to continue the life the two had previously enjoyed. On their travels the two of them were accompanied by a collection of imaginary animals. The story is usually described as a fantasy. Even though the tone of the story is realistic it could be considered

magic realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical re ...

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Review by Robert Wilfred Franson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Man Who Traveled in Elephants Short stories by Robert A. Heinlein 1948 short stories American short stories Fantasy short stories Works originally published in American magazines Works originally published in science fiction magazines

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