Science, Fiction, and the Fin-de-Siècle Periodical Press

In this revisionary study, Will Tattersdill argues against the reductive 'two cultures' model of intellectual discourse by exploring the cultural interactions between literature and science embodied in late nineteenth-century periodical literature, tracing the emergence of the new genre that would become known as 'science fiction'. He examines a range of fictional and non-fictional fin-de-siècle writing around distinct scientific themes: Martian communication, future prediction, X-rays, and polar exploration. Every chapter explores a major work of H. G. Wells, but also presents a wealth of exciting new material drawn from a variety of late Victorian periodicals. Arguing that the publications in which they appeared, as well as the stories themselves, played a crucial part in the development of science fiction, Tattersdill uses the form of the general interest magazine as a way of understanding the relationship between the arts and the sciences, and the creation of a new literary genre.

Author: Will Tattersdill
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 12/20/2018
Pages: 238
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781316507872

About the Author
Tattersdill, Will: - Will Tattersdill is Lecturer in Victorian Literature in the Department of English at the University of Birmingham.