The Origins of Science Fiction

Dr Michael Newton

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English

Worlds Classics
07 December 2023

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Anthologies (non-poetry); Classic fiction (pre c 1945); Classic horror & ghost stories; Science fiction; Classic science fiction

Series: Oxford World's Classics

'I seemed to gaze upon a vast space, the limits of which extended far beyond my vision...'This anthology gathers together seventeen gripping tales from the nineteenth and early twentieth century that make up the foundations of science fiction. It moves from Mary Shelley to H. G. Wells, from Edgar Allan Poe to W. E. B. Du Bois, and from George Eliot to Jack London. Before the term 'science fiction' was established, writers pursued a new and strange subject matter, to be written about in a startlingly new way. The selected stories in this collection reflect the many diverse paths that led towards science fiction, including scientific Gothic, dystopian fantasies, psychological hoaxes, feminist parables, fictions of time-travel, adventure stories, uncanny tales, and stories of alien encounters. The anthology unveils the power of the literature of the period and exposes our fascination with scientific discovery and the allure (and threat) of the imagined future.

This edition includes an introduction by Michael Newton setting out the themes of the tales and exploring the development of science fiction. Newton explores how the stories engage with anxiety about the limits of the rational mind, the fact of Empire and the discoveries of anthropology, the uneasy figure of the scientist, the rapid development of technology, and the presence of the alien other.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

By: Dr Michael Newton
Imprint: Worlds Classics
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 195mm, Width: 128mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 320g
ISBN: 9780198891949
ISBN 10: 0198891946
Series: Oxford World's Classics
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 07 December 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Michael Newton is the author of avage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002) and Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012). On the subject of cinema, he has written Show People: A History of the Film Star (2019) and books on Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) for the BFI Film Classics series. He has edited Edmund Gosse's Father and Son and Victorian Fairy Tales for Oxford World's Classics, and Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent and The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories for Penguin Classics, and co-edited the anthology, Literature and Science, 1660-1834: Science as Polite Culture (2002). He teaches literature and film at Leiden University.

Reviews for The Origins of Science Fiction

These are some of my initial impressions on this useful collection...It is a great mystery just what captivates readers in a story and these ghostwriters have certainly achieved the pinnacle of this craft. * Pennsylvania Literary Journal *