Star Begotten: A Biological Fantasia

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Wesleyan University Press, Sep 12, 2006 - Fiction - 156 pages

H.G. Wells's second Martian invasion comes from within.

In his 1898 War of the Worlds, H. G. Wells imagined aliens from Mars descending to Earth with violent intentions. In Star Begotten, first published in 1937, the suspicion arises that the Martians may have returned—this time using cosmic rays to alter human chromosomes. The protagonist Joseph Davis, an author of popular histories, grows fearfully obsessed with rumors of the Martian plan. He considers the possibility that mutation may have already occurred, and that his child, his wife, and even he may already be Martians. An ironic and often comic novel, Star Begotten portrays discoveries in evolutionary biology and contemplates the benefits as well as the horrors of mutation. This new annotated edition situates the novel in its literary and historical contexts, explains its place in Wells's late development, and highlights its importance as a precursor to the dark comedies of delusion by writers like Robert Sheckley and Philip K. Dick.

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Contents

Introduction
1
Note on the Text
29
Star Begotten
33
The Mind of Mr Joseph Davis is Greatly Troubled
37
Mr Joseph Davis Learns about Cosmic Rays
56
Mr Joseph Davis Wrestles with an Incredible Idea
65
Dr Holdman Stedding is Infected with the Idea
73
Professor Ernest Keppel takes up the Idea in His Own Peculiar Fashion
77
Opening Phases of the Great Eugenic Research
84
The World Begins to Hear about the Martians
95
How these Star Begotten People may Presently Get Together
108
Professor Keppel is Inspired to Foretell the End of Humanity
125
Mr Joseph Davis tears up a Manuscript
134
Notes to the Introduction
143
Notes to the Text
149
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About the author (2006)

H.G. WELLS (1866–1946) pioneered the "scientific romance" in such novels as The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and The Invisible Man.

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