Steven McLean | Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (original) (raw)

Books by Steven McLean

First published in 1893, The Angel of the Revolution is a fantastical tale of air warfare in whic... more First published in 1893, The Angel of the Revolution is a fantastical tale of air warfare in which an intrepid group of Socialists, Anarchists and Nihilists defeat Capitalism with their superior knowledge of dirigibles. Led by a crippled, brilliant Russian Jew and his daughter, Natasha, The Brotherhood of Freedom establishes a ‘pax aeronautica’ over the world, thanks to the expertise of Richard Arnold, a young scientist. Arnold falls in love with Natasha (the eponymous Angel), and Griffith builds a utopian vision of Socialism and romance.

As well as writing a cracking good story, Griffith is also remarkably prescient in predicting future technology, including air travel, tidal power, and solar energy. He also engages with timeless debates over social responsibility. Griffith imagines a world in which the wealth of the obscenely rich is sequestered, their property seized for the public good, and their businesses nationalised. Those with unearned incomes are forced to either pay punitive tax, or to undertake equivalent labour in the community. Griffith’s message lacks subtlety, but it couldn’t be more pertinent in the twenty-first century.

This new edition includes a critical introduction by Steven McLean, and also:
■Explanatory footnotes
■Author biography
■Suggestions for further reading
■Map of locations mentioned in the book
■‘The Fall of Berlin’ – a chapter excised from the original edition
■Contemporary reviews
■Extracts from related texts on aeronautics, science fiction, and social reform

H.G. Wells erupted onto the literary scene with a succession of brilliant scientific novels, or '... more H.G. Wells erupted onto the literary scene with a succession of brilliant scientific novels, or 'scientific romances', including The Time Machine (1895), The War of the Worlds (1898) and The First Men in the Moon (1901). Generally acknowledged as the pioneers of modern science fiction, Wells's early novels are immersed in contemporary science.

In The Early Fiction of H.G. Wells: Fantasies of Science, Steven McLean offers a detailed and comprehensive study of the interconnections between Wells's scientific romances and the discourses of science in the 1890s and early years of the twentieth century. Restoring the author's early fiction to the context of the periodical press and scientific publications more generally, McLean investigates how Wells utilises his scientific romances to participate in a range of topical scientific debates, but also disputes with such leading 'men of science' as T.H. Huxley and Herbert Spencer. He concludes that Wells's scientific romances retain a definite resonance in the twenty-first century.

This eclectic collection brings together a range of essays on H. G. Wells (1866-1946). While he i... more This eclectic collection brings together a range of essays on H. G. Wells (1866-1946). While he is best known for his early ‘scientific romances’, which are generally acknowledged as the precursors of modern science fiction, Wells was a polymath whose varied and prolific writings included science textbooks, journalism, social novels, utopias and short stories. H. G. Wells: Interdisciplinary Essays brings together a collection of mostly new essays from both established scholars and younger researchers and incorporates various aspects of Wells’s position as one of the most important writers of the late nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth century.

The volume features essays examining well-known works such as The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The War of the Worlds in the context of the sustained recent interest in the interconnections between literature and science. Yet it also includes intriguing evaluations of novels that have received very little attention in academic criticism, such as The Wheels of Chance and Mr Blettsworthy on Rampole Island. Wells’s philosophical outlook and his political impact are assessed in essays that include an investigation of his relationship to the American philosopher William James and his intellectual influence on Winston Churchill.

Papers by Steven McLean

Utopian Studies, Mar 22, 2005

Journal of Literature and Science, 7:2

Papers on Language and Literature, 49 (2013), 70-85

The Wellsian, 35 (2012), 16-24

Notes and Queries, Sep 2012

Covers many aspects of recent Wells Studies including my own The Early Fiction of H. G. Wells and... more Covers many aspects of recent Wells Studies including my own The Early Fiction of H. G. Wells and work by Parrinder, Hammond etc.

Notes and Queries, Jan 1, 2010

Wells's self-proclaimed indebtedness to Swift provides a valuable clue as to the origin of t... more Wells's self-proclaimed indebtedness to Swift provides a valuable clue as to the origin of this future leather. 3 In the final voyage of Gulliver's Travels, the eponymous hero uses skin derived from the unmistakeably human Yahoos to sole his shoes as he replenishes his worn-out ...

PAPERS ON LANGUAGE AND …, Jan 1, 2007

The Undying Fire: The Journal of the HG Wells Society, …, Jan 1, 2002