At the close of the eighteenth century, Erasmus Darwin declared that he would 'enlist the imagination under the banner of science,' beginning, Michael Page argues, a literary narrative on questions of evolution, ecology, and technological progress that would extend from the Romantic through the Victorian periods. Examining the interchange between emerging scientific ideas-specifically evolution and ecology-new technologies, and literature in nineteenth-century Britain, Page shows how British writers from Darwin to H.G. Wells confronted the burgeoning expansion of scientific knowledge that was radically redefining human understanding and experience of the natural world, of human species, and of the self. The wide range of authors covered in Page's ambitious study permits him to explore an impressive array of topics that include the role of the Romantic era in the molding of scientific and cultural perspectives; the engagement of William Wordsworth and Percy Shelley with questions raised by contemporary science; Mary Shelley's conflicted views on the unfolding prospects of modernity; and how Victorian writers like Charles Kingsley, Samuel Butler, and W.H. Hudson responded to the implications of evolutionary theory. Page concludes with the scientific romances of H.G. Wells, to demonstrate how evolutionary fantasies reached the pinnacle of synthesis between evolutionary science and the imagination at the close of the century.

At the close of the eighteenth century, Erasmus Darwin declared that he would 'enlist the imagination under the banner of science,' beginning, Michael Page argues, a literary narrative on questions of evolution, ecology, and technological progress that would extend from the Romantic through the Victorian periods. Examining the interchange between emerging scientific ideas-specifically evolution and ecology-new technologies, and literature in nineteenth-century Britain, Page shows how British writers from Darwin to H.G. Wells confronted the burgeoning expansion of scientific knowledge that was radically redefining human understanding and experience of the natural world, of human species, and of the self. The wide range of authors covered in Page's ambitious study permits him to explore an impressive array of topics that include the role of the Romantic era in the molding of scientific and cultural perspectives; the engagement of William Wordsworth and Percy Shelley with questions raised by contemporary science; Mary Shelley's conflicted views on the unfolding prospects of modernity; and how Victorian writers like Charles Kingsley, Samuel Butler, and W.H. Hudson responded to the implications of evolutionary theory. Page concludes with the scientific romances of H.G. Wells, to demonstrate how evolutionary fantasies reached the pinnacle of synthesis between evolutionary science and the imagination at the close of the century.

Gathered here for the first time are Miles J. Breuer's first publication, "The Man with the Strange Head"; his neglected dystopian novel Paradise and Iron (appearing here in book form for the first time); stories such as "Gostak and the Doshes" and "Mechanocracy"; and Breuer's essay "The Future of Scientifiction," one of the early critical statements of the genre. Also included are some of the author's letters from the Discussions column of Amazing Stories. Much of what we know as science fiction saw the light-and found its themes, styles, and modes-in the science fiction magazines of the early twentieth century. It was in these magazines of the 1920s and 1930s that Breuer often led the way. Breuer himself found his inspiration in the work of H. G. Wells and in turn influenced science fiction masters from Jack Williamson to Robert A. Heinlein. The Man with the Strange Head and Other Early Science Fiction Stories collects the best work of this pioneer of the genre.

One of the major figures in science fiction for over sixty years, James Gunn has been instrumental in the development of science fiction teaching and in making science fiction one of the most vibrant and engaging areas of scholarly study. His genre history Alternate Worlds and his monumental The Road to Science Fiction anthologies introduced countless readers to the genre. While a professor of English at the University of Kansas, Gunn founded the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction in 1982. But Gunn has also been one of the genre's leading writers, whose classic novels Star Bridge (with Jack Williamson), The Joy Makers, The Immortals, and The Listeners, helped shape the field. Now in his nineties, Gunn remains a major voice in science fiction. His latest novel, Transformation (the conclusion of the Transcendental trilogy), will be published in 2017. Michael Page's study is the first to examine the life, career, and writing of this science fiction grandmaster. Drawing on materials from Gunn's archives and from personal interviews with Gunn and providing detailed analysis and commentary on Gunn's fiction, in The Science Fiction, Scholarship, and Teaching of James Gunn Page provides a much-needed exploration of one of science fiction's important figures.

Acknowledged as one of the founding figures of science fiction scholarship and teaching, and one of the genre's leading writers, James Gunn in 1951 wrote what is likely the first master's thesis on modern science fiction, Modern Science Fiction: A Critical Analysis. It achieved some degree of legendary status when portions appeared in the short-lived pulp magazine Dynamic, but has otherwise remained unavailable for scholars and general readers of science fiction. Appearing for the first time in book form, this early critical work by a science fiction master is an important historical addition to the field of science fiction studies. Gunn's observations on many of the classic Golden Age stories of the 1940s, before they were classic, highlight this exuberant and astute early academic critical assessment of science fiction. Here the reader will witness the development of Gunn's critical perspective that informed his essential genre history Alternate Worlds and the monumental anthology series The Road to Science Fiction. Michael R. Page's introduction and commentary show the historical significance of Gunn's work and frame it within the context of the later development of science fiction criticism and theory.