Terry Pratchett wrote about "divers alarums and excursions" in Wyrd Sisters. Of course, this being Pratchett, his characters muse that the excursions are probably on the seaside, where "the divers can recover from all them alarums"...

Since the movie is set in the late nineteenth century, the main character talks about being "telegraphed" to Mars!

Sorry, it's not Stark - the tone of the book I'm trying to find was very dark, no comedy at all.

That's it! It's funny how I remembered some very specific words ("germinate" and "cellophane") while forgetting all the rest... Thanks a lot Mr. Mogensen!