Crossroads of Imagination
Czech Fantastic Literature 1831-1945
Will be published approx. on 4. September 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
700 pages
978-80-246-6276-3 (ISBN)
Description
The first anthology of early Czech fantastic writing in translation.
Crossroads of Imagination is a rare English-language study of modern science fiction's precursors beyond the U.S. and Britain. Many translated for the first time, these thirty texts reflect a rich Euro-Atlantic tradition from the Romantic age to World War II. Authors include Jakub Arbes, Karel Capek, Jiri Karasek ze Lvovic, Ladislav Klima, Jiri Mordechai Langer, Jan Neruda, Emilie Prochazkova, Jan Weiss, and Julius Zeyer. The anthology highlights women's, Jewish, and queer voices.
Prefaces to each selection uncover how new ideas and technologies shaped the European fantastic-positivism, mistrust of elites, pacifism, spiritism, and xenophobia, alongside expansions in communications, transportation, electrification, and technical education. Comparative essays and annotations look beyond "major" literatures and emphasize those of East-Central Europe. Archival images enliven this collection. General and genre readers alike will discover new stories and authors, as well as a fantastic tradition shared across Europe and North America before the advent of modern science fiction.
Crossroads of Imagination is a rare English-language study of modern science fiction's precursors beyond the U.S. and Britain. Many translated for the first time, these thirty texts reflect a rich Euro-Atlantic tradition from the Romantic age to World War II. Authors include Jakub Arbes, Karel Capek, Jiri Karasek ze Lvovic, Ladislav Klima, Jiri Mordechai Langer, Jan Neruda, Emilie Prochazkova, Jan Weiss, and Julius Zeyer. The anthology highlights women's, Jewish, and queer voices.
Prefaces to each selection uncover how new ideas and technologies shaped the European fantastic-positivism, mistrust of elites, pacifism, spiritism, and xenophobia, alongside expansions in communications, transportation, electrification, and technical education. Comparative essays and annotations look beyond "major" literatures and emphasize those of East-Central Europe. Archival images enliven this collection. General and genre readers alike will discover new stories and authors, as well as a fantastic tradition shared across Europe and North America before the advent of modern science fiction.
Reviews / Votes
"A landmark of speculative fiction studies, all too often limited to works in English, thus obscuring the fact that other literatures, including the Czech one, offer original approaches to science fiction, fantasy and the fantastic. This anthology shows the way to future translators and scholars, as well as to a wider readership." * Mariano Martin Rodriguez, Revista Helice: Reflexiones criticas sobre ficcion especulativa * "An extraordinary editorial achievement. None of the important authors in Czech fantastic literature is missing. The editor's notes, together with the detailed prefaces, make this a critical edition. Many of these texts have not been subjected to such careful examination even in the Czech language." * Ivan Adamovic, Czech science fiction scholar *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Ovocny
Czech Republic
Illustrations
1 halftone
Dimensions
Height: 190 mm
Width: 130 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-80-246-6276-3 (9788024662763)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Carleton Bulkin is a scholar of Slavic languages and literatures and a translator of Czech works, including Hidden History by Otokar Brezina, A False Dawn by Ilona Lackova, The Sufferings of Prince Sternenhoch by Ladislav Klima, and Marketa Lazarova by Vladislav Vancura. Melvyn Clarke is a translator of Czech.
Content
Introduction by Carleton Bulkin
1 V. R. Kramerius "The Iron Shirt" (1831)
2 Jakub Maly "A Hundred Years On" (1841)
3 Josef Jiri Kolar Hellspawn (1853)
4 Jan Neruda Futuristic Feuilletons (1869-89)
5 Svatopluk Cech "Sketches from the Year 2070" (1870)
6 Julius Zeyer "The Opal Bowl" (1878)
7 Jakub Arbes "Rainbow Point Overhead" (1889)
8 Sofie Podlipska "A View into Hell" (1903)
9 Karel Hloucha "The Black Deep" (1907)
10 Jiri Karasek ze Lvovic Scarabaeus (1909)
11 Karel Babanek "The Mysterious Disappearance of Petty Clerk Pistora" (1910)
12 Metod Suchdolsky Russians on Mars (1910)
13 Jaroslav Hasek "Austrian Customs Offices" (1912)
14 Jan Havlasa "The Undersea" (1912)
15 Ladislav Velinsky "The End of Dr. Snobins' Immortality" (1912)
16 Karel Matej Capek-Chod The Turbine (1916)
17 Josef Simanek "The Ruby of Ahmetis" (1916)
18 Emanuel z Lesehradu "Iris Inexorabilis" (1919)
19 Ruzena Jesenska "The Soul" (1920)
20 Jiri Haussmann "-1" (1921)
21 Emilie Prochazkova The Martians (1922)
22 Tomas Hruby The Sahara Sun (1924)
23 Frantisek Langer "The Man Who Got Lost in His Utopia" (1927)
24 Jan Weiss "The Apostle" (1927)
25 Ladislav Klima The Sufferings of Prince Sternenhoch (1928)
26 Jan Barda The Reeducated (1931)
27 Karel Capek "Letters from the Future": U.S.A., Great Britain, Ireland (1930)
28 Jiri Mordechai Langer Nine Gates (1937)
29 Miles J. Breuer "A Contrivance of Life" (1942)
30 Olga Scheinpflugova The Acheirs: A Utopian Novella (1945)
Afterword by Michal Franek and Ivan Adamovic
Bibliography
Index
1 V. R. Kramerius "The Iron Shirt" (1831)
2 Jakub Maly "A Hundred Years On" (1841)
3 Josef Jiri Kolar Hellspawn (1853)
4 Jan Neruda Futuristic Feuilletons (1869-89)
5 Svatopluk Cech "Sketches from the Year 2070" (1870)
6 Julius Zeyer "The Opal Bowl" (1878)
7 Jakub Arbes "Rainbow Point Overhead" (1889)
8 Sofie Podlipska "A View into Hell" (1903)
9 Karel Hloucha "The Black Deep" (1907)
10 Jiri Karasek ze Lvovic Scarabaeus (1909)
11 Karel Babanek "The Mysterious Disappearance of Petty Clerk Pistora" (1910)
12 Metod Suchdolsky Russians on Mars (1910)
13 Jaroslav Hasek "Austrian Customs Offices" (1912)
14 Jan Havlasa "The Undersea" (1912)
15 Ladislav Velinsky "The End of Dr. Snobins' Immortality" (1912)
16 Karel Matej Capek-Chod The Turbine (1916)
17 Josef Simanek "The Ruby of Ahmetis" (1916)
18 Emanuel z Lesehradu "Iris Inexorabilis" (1919)
19 Ruzena Jesenska "The Soul" (1920)
20 Jiri Haussmann "-1" (1921)
21 Emilie Prochazkova The Martians (1922)
22 Tomas Hruby The Sahara Sun (1924)
23 Frantisek Langer "The Man Who Got Lost in His Utopia" (1927)
24 Jan Weiss "The Apostle" (1927)
25 Ladislav Klima The Sufferings of Prince Sternenhoch (1928)
26 Jan Barda The Reeducated (1931)
27 Karel Capek "Letters from the Future": U.S.A., Great Britain, Ireland (1930)
28 Jiri Mordechai Langer Nine Gates (1937)
29 Miles J. Breuer "A Contrivance of Life" (1942)
30 Olga Scheinpflugova The Acheirs: A Utopian Novella (1945)
Afterword by Michal Franek and Ivan Adamovic
Bibliography
Index