The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells
WELLS, H. G. The First Men in the Moon. London, George Newnes, 1901.
First English edition, first issue, of H. G. Wells’ science fiction novel, with twelve plates by the British illustrator Claude Shepperson (1867–1921).
The First Men in the Moon narrates the voyage to the Moon of Mr Bedford, a London businessman, and Mr Cavor, an eccentric scientist. Upon arrival, the two men discover a sophisticated extraterrestrial civilization of insect-like creatures, which they name the ‘Selenites’. Inspired by Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Well’s novel was originally serialized in The Strand Magazine and The Cosmopolitan from November 1900 to June 1901, and published in hardcover in 1901 by George Newnes in London and Bowen-Merrill in New York.
Alongside Wells’ other early ‘scientific romances’, as the came to be known, The First Men in the Moon is known for being ‘boldly melodramatic and intellectually provocative’ and ‘unsurpassed for its imagination and visionary power’ (ODNB). These works reveal their author’s deep understanding of the shifts in human purpose and meaning brought about by Darwinian evolutionary theory. Their pessimism resonates with the fin de siècle mood, yet their critique of human complacency remains undiminished over time.
Octavo, pp. [viii], 342, [2 (blank)]; with twelve full-page plates (one as frontispiece); publisher’s first issue binding of dark blue cloth, front cover and spine decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt, black coated endpapers; a very good copy (occasional light foxing and dust-staining, spine darkened, some rubbing to spine ends and edges); lacking the dust-jacket.
WELLS, H. G. The First Men in the Moon. London, George Newnes, 1901.
First English edition, first issue, of H. G. Wells’ science fiction novel, with twelve plates by the British illustrator Claude Shepperson (1867–1921).
The First Men in the Moon narrates the voyage to the Moon of Mr Bedford, a London businessman, and Mr Cavor, an eccentric scientist. Upon arrival, the two men discover a sophisticated extraterrestrial civilization of insect-like creatures, which they name the ‘Selenites’. Inspired by Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Well’s novel was originally serialized in The Strand Magazine and The Cosmopolitan from November 1900 to June 1901, and published in hardcover in 1901 by George Newnes in London and Bowen-Merrill in New York.
Alongside Wells’ other early ‘scientific romances’, as the came to be known, The First Men in the Moon is known for being ‘boldly melodramatic and intellectually provocative’ and ‘unsurpassed for its imagination and visionary power’ (ODNB). These works reveal their author’s deep understanding of the shifts in human purpose and meaning brought about by Darwinian evolutionary theory. Their pessimism resonates with the fin de siècle mood, yet their critique of human complacency remains undiminished over time.
Octavo, pp. [viii], 342, [2 (blank)]; with twelve full-page plates (one as frontispiece); publisher’s first issue binding of dark blue cloth, front cover and spine decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt, black coated endpapers; a very good copy (occasional light foxing and dust-staining, spine darkened, some rubbing to spine ends and edges); lacking the dust-jacket.
WELLS, H. G. The First Men in the Moon. London, George Newnes, 1901.
First English edition, first issue, of H. G. Wells’ science fiction novel, with twelve plates by the British illustrator Claude Shepperson (1867–1921).
The First Men in the Moon narrates the voyage to the Moon of Mr Bedford, a London businessman, and Mr Cavor, an eccentric scientist. Upon arrival, the two men discover a sophisticated extraterrestrial civilization of insect-like creatures, which they name the ‘Selenites’. Inspired by Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Well’s novel was originally serialized in The Strand Magazine and The Cosmopolitan from November 1900 to June 1901, and published in hardcover in 1901 by George Newnes in London and Bowen-Merrill in New York.
Alongside Wells’ other early ‘scientific romances’, as the came to be known, The First Men in the Moon is known for being ‘boldly melodramatic and intellectually provocative’ and ‘unsurpassed for its imagination and visionary power’ (ODNB). These works reveal their author’s deep understanding of the shifts in human purpose and meaning brought about by Darwinian evolutionary theory. Their pessimism resonates with the fin de siècle mood, yet their critique of human complacency remains undiminished over time.
Octavo, pp. [viii], 342, [2 (blank)]; with twelve full-page plates (one as frontispiece); publisher’s first issue binding of dark blue cloth, front cover and spine decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt, black coated endpapers; a very good copy (occasional light foxing and dust-staining, spine darkened, some rubbing to spine ends and edges); lacking the dust-jacket.