| Home |
| Novels |
| Collections |
| Translations |
| Non-Fiction |
| Short Stories |
| Anthologies |
This
book has a very specific and original thesis. It argues that there
grew up in Britain at the end of the last century, and then flourished
for about sixty years, an important and distinctive kind of science
fiction writing. 'Scientific romance' in this sense constitutes a
tradition quite separate from science fiction in America at the same
period. It was a descendant of earlier speculative and fantasy modes,
with the motive force that had come from the idea of a
utopia, or an imaginary voyage, now being provided by possibilities
discerned in new scientific developments. The brilliant early fictions
of H.G. Wells were a source of tremendous vitality for this genre.
But its achievements thereafter have not been sufficiently recognised,
and its practitioners are by no means familiar names.
The main body of the book is devoted to a pioneering author-by- author history of this neglected literary episode.
This promises to be a seminal work in the field of science-fiction criticism. At a stroke, a large array of intriguing but poorly-charted writing acquires a shape - and a critical standing.
Published by The Borgo Press
in September 2007
ISBN:0-947795-85-5
