The Essential Robert Duncan Milne
Stories by the Lost Pioneer of Science Fiction
Published on 23. January 2025
Book
Hardback
328 pages
978-1-350-41262-0 (ISBN)
Description
This collection showcases the speculative writing of Scottish-born and California-based writer Robert Duncan Milne (1844-99) whose works mark him as one of the forgotten pioneers of early science fiction. Hailed as the first full-time science fiction writer in America, this critical edition draws together the most expansive collection of his writing ever published and places his life, works and themes into their historical, literary and scientific contexts. With his writing touching on nearly every subset of the genre, including climate catastrophe, utopia, cryogenics, molecular re-engineering of the body, personality transfer, drone warfare, remote surveillance, and satellite phones, this book offers an overdue correction to the science fiction canon. Grouped thematically and with volume and story introductions that connect Milne's work to his peers and science fiction scholarship, this is the essential guide to a crucially overlooked writer. Astonishingly prescient and fulfilling the missing link in science fiction literary history that bridges the gap between the likes of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, Milne makes clear the often-obscured contribution of both Scotland and California in the development of the science fiction genre.
Reviews / Votes
Asked to come up with a list of H. G. Wells's precursors in science fiction, almost the last name we are likely to hear is that of Robert Duncan Milne (1844-99) [...] Now Wells scholar Keith Williams and his co-editor have put together eighteen of the seventy-odd stories that Milne published in San Francisco newspapers in the 1880s and early 1890s, together with critical introductions to each story. The result is a true collectors' item [...] * Patrick Parrinder in The Wellsian (2025) no.48 * This is a pioneering edition of one of the formative figures in early science fiction. It makes accessible for the first time an invaluable collection of his best stories. * David Seed, University of Liverpool *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
10 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 174 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
760 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-41262-0 (9781350412620)
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
Robert Duncan Milne was a late 19th-century Science Fiction writer born in Cupar, Scotland but who was based in San Francisco. His work was primarily published in newspapers and the magazine The Argonaut. His works were rediscovered and collected together Into the Sun & Other Stories (1980) by Sam Moskowitz.
Keith Williams is Reader in English at the University of Dundee, Scotland, where he runs the science fiction programme. His books include H.G. Wells, Modernity and the Movies (2007) and James Joyce and Cinematicity: Before and After Film (2020). He has researched and published widely on early science fiction and its prescience about modern media and communications.
Ari Brin obtained her M.Litt in Science Fiction from the University of Dundee in 2017. Her PhD research since 2016 has focused on the life and work of Robert Duncan Milne, involving the collection, transcription, and analysis of over 100 works of fiction.
Keith Williams is Reader in English at the University of Dundee, Scotland, where he runs the science fiction programme. His books include H.G. Wells, Modernity and the Movies (2007) and James Joyce and Cinematicity: Before and After Film (2020). He has researched and published widely on early science fiction and its prescience about modern media and communications.
Ari Brin obtained her M.Litt in Science Fiction from the University of Dundee in 2017. Her PhD research since 2016 has focused on the life and work of Robert Duncan Milne, involving the collection, transcription, and analysis of over 100 works of fiction.
Content
List of Illustrations
Foreword by Ken MacLeod
Acknowledgements
Introduction: The Ghost of Futures Past
Note on the Text
Introduction to Thematic Cluster 1
The Artificial Eyes and Ears of Science:
Early Imaginings of Global Telecommunication Systems
and Surveillance Devices
The Great Electric Diaphragm (1879)
The Aerial Cone Reflector (1881)
The Palaeoscopic Camera (1881)
Introduction to Thematic Cluster 2
Science Fiction Crime Stories:
The Impact of Technology on Human Matters
and "Karmic" Justice in the Modern Age
A Dead Man's Ring (1883)
A Modern Proteus (1888)
The Silent Witness (1889)
The Eidoloscope (1890)
Introduction to Thematic Cluster 3
Scientizing Spiritualism:
Stories of Clairvoyance, Telekinesis, and Teleportation
A New Palingenesis (1883)
A Modern Magic Mirror (1884)
Prof. Vehr's Electrical Experiment (1885)
Baron Von Steinbach's Soul (1885)
Introduction to Thematic Cluster 4
Bodies without Limits:
Stories of Transfusions, Youth-Elixirs, and Radical Surgeries
A Man Who Grew Young Again (1887)
The Centenary of the Elixir (1889)
Brain Transference (1891)
Introduction to Thematic Cluster 5
Apocalypse and Things to Come:
Visions of Possible Futures
Into the Sun (1882)
The Awful Cataclysm in Ireland (1885)
A Question of Reciprocity (1891)
How San Francisco Looked in 1893
An Archeological Fantasy (1893)
Bibliography
Notes
Index
Foreword by Ken MacLeod
Acknowledgements
Introduction: The Ghost of Futures Past
Note on the Text
Introduction to Thematic Cluster 1
The Artificial Eyes and Ears of Science:
Early Imaginings of Global Telecommunication Systems
and Surveillance Devices
The Great Electric Diaphragm (1879)
The Aerial Cone Reflector (1881)
The Palaeoscopic Camera (1881)
Introduction to Thematic Cluster 2
Science Fiction Crime Stories:
The Impact of Technology on Human Matters
and "Karmic" Justice in the Modern Age
A Dead Man's Ring (1883)
A Modern Proteus (1888)
The Silent Witness (1889)
The Eidoloscope (1890)
Introduction to Thematic Cluster 3
Scientizing Spiritualism:
Stories of Clairvoyance, Telekinesis, and Teleportation
A New Palingenesis (1883)
A Modern Magic Mirror (1884)
Prof. Vehr's Electrical Experiment (1885)
Baron Von Steinbach's Soul (1885)
Introduction to Thematic Cluster 4
Bodies without Limits:
Stories of Transfusions, Youth-Elixirs, and Radical Surgeries
A Man Who Grew Young Again (1887)
The Centenary of the Elixir (1889)
Brain Transference (1891)
Introduction to Thematic Cluster 5
Apocalypse and Things to Come:
Visions of Possible Futures
Into the Sun (1882)
The Awful Cataclysm in Ireland (1885)
A Question of Reciprocity (1891)
How San Francisco Looked in 1893
An Archeological Fantasy (1893)
Bibliography
Notes
Index