The Beast Without; becoming human in the science fiction of H.G. Wells

McNabb, John (2020) The Beast Without; becoming human in the science fiction of H.G. Wells. In, Porr, Martin and Mathews, Jacqueline (eds.) Interrogating Human Origins: Decolonisation and the Deep Human Past. (HASH(0x85cba70)) 1st ed. Abingdon, Oxford. Routledge, pp. 160-183.

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

This paper is the second of two on the subject of H.G. Wells’ engagement with human evolution, and how it was reflected in his scientific journalism and science fiction writing. The first paper (McNabb 2015) focused on the theme of the ‘beast within’ and covered the 1890s up to and including the novelisation of The Island of Doctor Moreau in 1896. This paper will cover the period from Moreau to 1901. After this date Wells’ writing changed (Mackenzie and Mackenzie 1987; Philmus and Hughes 1975). He no longer focused on scientific romances. He began to position himself as the prophet of a new social order, his writing reflecting his developing interests in sociology and his belief in the need for radical social change. In this paper I will continue to focus on the idea of the beast within, but I will slant it towards one of the volume’s main themes, ‘becoming human’. I will look at the juxtaposition of human and animal in Wells’ work, as well as a selection of the work of other writers from this period.

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