Anticipations: Essays on Early Science Fiction and its Precursors (Utopianism and Communitarianism) - Softcover

Seed, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0815626401 ISBN 13: 9780815626404

Publisher: Syracuse University Press, 1995

Synopsis

This volume of essays examines early, primarily nineteenth-century, examples of science fiction. The essays focus particularly on how this fiction engages with such contemporary issues as exploration, the development of science and social planning.
Several of the writers discussed (Mary Shelley, Poe, Verne, Wells) have been proposed by literary historians as the founders of science fiction. The aim in these essays, however, is not to privilege one individual, but rather to look at the gradual convergence of a number of different genres and at the process of continuing influence of one writer on his/her successor. The collection strikes a balance between a discussion of the established names within the field and less well known works such as Symzonia and The Battle of Dorking.
The volume concludes with a consideration of the utopias and dystopias of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

About this title

Review:

... one of the finest studies of early SF I've seen in recent years. -- Gary K. Wolfe * Locus *

Synopsis:

Focusing on the 19th century, this volume brings a body of substantial current British science fiction to North American readers. The editors strike a balance between a discussion of established names in the field and less-known writers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0815626401
• ISBN 13: 9780815626404
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 225