Joyleg

Two D.C. politicians discover an Appalachian man who may know the secret to immortality in this satirical science fiction fantasy classic.

A United States veteran’s pension of $11 a month seems highly unusual. Congressman Tully Weathernox believes the man should be earning more after serving his country. Congresswoman Lucinda Rose Habersham thinks he’s a fraud leeching off the government. What kind of name is Isachar Joyleg anyway?

Determined to uncover the truth, they journey to the man’s home in the Tennessee hills to investigate. But what they discover there defies reality. Joyleg isn’t a veteran of any war in the twentieth century—or nineteenth century. He served in the Revolutionary War . . . and he is over two hundred years old!

How is this possible? While local folklore suggests witchcraft or a pact with the Devil, Tully and Lucinda aren’t so sure. And when they learn Joyleg’s secret, it causes a frenzy that will change the world . . .

Originally serialized in the magazine Fantastic in early 1962, Joyleg was published in expanded form as a complete novel for the first time later that year.

“A refreshing bit of political fantasy.” —The New York Times