1st Edition

The Routledge Anthology of Global Science Fiction Origins

Edited By Bill Gillard Copyright 2026
336 Pages
by Routledge

336 Pages
by Routledge

336 Pages
by Routledge

The Routledge Anthology of Global Science Fiction Origins brings together short stories from writers of science fiction from all over the world who were at the vanguard of the genre from 1872–1942. Beginning with a dynamic and engaging introduction, Bill Gillard provides accessible introductions to each text to offer key insights into the historical and cultural conditions that led to their... Read more

Introduction, 1. “The Diamond Lens” (1858) by Fitz-James O’Brien (Ireland), 2. “Captain Mendonça” (1870) by Machado de Assis (Brazil), 3. “Anno Domini 2000, or, Woman’s Destiny” (excerpt) (1889) by Julius Vogel (New Zealand), 4. “A Million Years After” (excerpt) (1889) by J. Dragutin Ilić (Serbia), 5. “The Strange Death of Friar Pedro” (1898, revised 1913) by Rubén Darío (Nicaragua), 6. “The Purple Cloud” (excerpt) (1901) by M.P. Shiel (Montserrat), 7. “Vertigo” (1901) by Adela Zamudio (Bolivia), 8. “The Curious Experience of Thomas Dunbar” (1904) by Gertrude Barrows Bennett (United States), 9. “New Tales of Mr. Braggadocio” (1905) by Xu Nianci (China), 10. “Sultana’s Dream” (1905) by Begum Rokeya (Bengal), 11. “The Anglo-American Alliance” (excerpt) (1906) by Gregory Casparian (Türkiye), 12. “Yzur” (1906) by Leopoldo Lugones (Argentina), 13. “Singnagtugaq” (excerpt) (1914) by Mathias Storch (Greenland), 14. “In the Penal Colony” (1919) by Franz Kafka (Austria-Hungary), 15. “The Tale of Ak and Humanity” (1919) by Yefim Zozulya (Russia), 16. “R.U.R.” (excerpt) (1920) by Karel Čapek (Czechoslovakia), 17. “Frozen Bodies” (1921) by Amado Nervo (Mexico), 18. “Cataclysm” (1924) by Massimo Bontempelli (Italy), 19. “The Surrounding Reality” (1927) by Julio Garmendia (Venezuela), 20. “The Machine Man of Ardathia” (1927) by Francis Flagg (Canada), 21. “Sons of the Clouds” (excerpt) (1931) by August van Oordt (South Africa), 22. “Vandals of the Void” (excerpt) (1931) by James Morgan Walsh (Australia), 23. “Four-Dimensional Man” (1935) by Juza Unno (Japan), 24. “Angels’ Prayer” (1941) by Tawfiq al-Hakim (Egypt

Biography

Bill Gillard is Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, USA. His publications include The Routledge Anthology of Climate Fiction (2025) and Speculative Modernism: How Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Conceived the Twentieth Century (2021).