The Island of Dr. Moreau

H. G. Wells

Apr. 2012 · Blackstone Audio Inc. · Voorgelees deur Robin Lawson

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Written in 1896, The Island of Dr. Moreau was an instant sensation that went on to inspire a series of movies. It was meant as a commentary on Darwin's recently published theory of evolution, which had riveted the world of science and therefore, of science fiction. While gene-splicing and bioengineering are common practices today, readers are still amazed by Wells's haunting vision and the ethical questions he raised a century before our time. Shipwrecked on a Pacific island, gentleman naturalist Edward Prendick finds Dr. Moreau, a scientist expelled from his homeland for performing cruel vivisection experiments. Here Moreau has found the freedom to continue his work, and Prendick soon becomes involved. Dr. Moreau's project is to "humanize" animals by torturous surgical transplant, creating hideous creatures with manlike intelligence. But as the cruelly-enforced order on Moreau's island dissolves, the true consequences of his meddling emerge.

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H. G. Wells (1866–1946), born in Bromley, Kent, England, was apprenticed to a drygoodsman and a druggist before he made his way to the Royal College of Science where he studied biology. Known as the father of science fiction, he was also a prolific writer in other genres, including contemporary novels, history, and social commentary. As a spokesman for progress and peace, his middle period novels (1900–1920) were more realistic and covered lower-middle-class life, suffrage, and the emergence of feminist ideals that pushed against the limits set by male-dominated society.