WELLS, H.G.

The Island of Doctor Moreau.

“The crying sounded even louder out of doors. It was as if all the pain in the world had found a voice”: Rare first edition of H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau; in a rare publisher's variant trial binding

London: William Heinemann, 1896.

$2,500.00

Out of Stock Item Number: RRB-141025

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First edition of “the ultimate science fiction novel and the ultimate horror story” (Gene Wolfe). Octavo, original publisher's green cloth trial binding with gilt titles and floral stamping to the spine, tissue-guarded frontispiece, 1 pp. publisher's ads at rear. This rare unrecorded binding is not mentioned in Hammond or Currey; the Richard Manney copy (sold at Sotheby's on October 11th 1991, Lot 306) was bound in the same variant binding which was likely a trial binding which was quickly discontinued for the more commonly known tan cloth. Currey p. 520; Hammond B3. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable.

“Often regarded as the father of modern science fiction” (Clute & Grant, 1004), Wells wrote The Island of Dr. Moreau at the age of 30. “A highly significant literary experiment… [it] served to reveal the potential of science fiction to couch serious questions” (Barron, Anatomy of Wonder II-1228). Of this and Wells’ other early “scientific romances” Jorge Luis Borges once declared, “they will be incorporated, like the fables of Theseus or Ahasuerus, into the general memory of the species and even transcend the fame of their creator.” It served as the basis for several adaptations to film, most notably in 1977 starring Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Nigel Davenport, Barbara Carrera and Richard Basehart, directed by Don Taylor. Also the 1996 film directed by John Frankenheimer starring Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, David Thewlis and Fairuza Balk.