
Appius and Virginia
G. E. Trevelyan(Author)
Penhaligon Press
Published on 7. November 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-1-914076-52-7 (ISBN)
Description
'I believe that if a young ape were taken at birth and brought up completely in human surroundings, exactly like a child, it would grow up like a child-would, in fact, become a child; except for its appearance, of course, and even there something might be done...'
Could an ape be raised as a human being? Forty-year-old scientist Virgina Hutton decides to try, bringing a baby orangutan to her home in the countryside, and devoting years to teaching him to sit, speak and even write like a human. Through their complex and often troubled relationship, this neglected classic from 1932 explores the deep questions of what it means to be human, and whether we can truly understand another mind.
More details
Language
English
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
211 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-914076-52-7 (9781914076527)
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Gertrude Eileen Trevelyan was born in Bath, England on October 1903 and studied at Oxford, where she was the first woman to win the Newdigate Prize for poetry. Between 1932 and 1939 she wrote eight novels, often strikingly unusual in their approach, and they were generally well received - in 1938 the Times Literary Supplement described her as "one of the most important novelists of our day". Trevelyan's London apartment was bombed during the Blitz in October 1940, and she died of her injuries in February 1941.