Future Perfect: American Science Fiction of the Nineteenth Century : an Anthology - Softcover

H.Bruce Franklin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0813521521 ISBN 13: 9780813521527

Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 2006

Synopsis

This selection of unusual storeis by important American writers-Hawthorne, Melville, Poe, Bellamy and Twain-and by less well-known tellers such as Ambrose Bierce, S. Weir Mitchell and Fitz-James O'Brien, challenges the commonly held belief that science fiction is a twenthiethcentury phenomenon, or that it began with Jule Verne and H,. G. Wells. Here are tales of marvelous inventions, automanta, biolgocial and psychological experiments, utopias, extra-sensory perception and time and space travel. Many of them have been out of print since before World War I, but they remain high in intrinsic interest of the general reader and for the specialist.

The accompanying critical essays explore the relationships between science fiction and other financial modes, and illuminate the nataure of the bonds betwen science and society and fantasies and social aspirations. Professor Franklin also offers an original, theoretical definition of science ficiton. This book comes as a revelatin. One of the best-edited anthologies I have ever encountered...Mr. Franklin's critical introductions, containing much valuable information about many works not included in this book, are as interesting as the stories he prints.

About this title

From the Author:

This is a revised and expanded edition.
This is a revised and expanded edition of the original book, which was recommended for both "Summer Reading" and "The Christmas Guide for Readers" by The New York Times Book Review. Isaac Asimov wrote, "This book comes as a revelation," and the Los Angeles Times said, "The essays are brilliant and challenging; the fiction, delightful and entertaining. A reader could not ask for much more."

From the Back Cover:

In this first new edition since 1978, H. Bruce Franklin has made major revisions and additions, including a new section displaying remarkable contributions to science fiction by nineteenth-century American women. Future Perfect now offers a stunning perspective on the relevance of nineteenth-century science fiction in the dawn of the twenty-first century, illustrated by wonderfully enjoyable stories by obscure figures and by well-known authors.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0813521521
• ISBN 13: 9780813521527
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 408