The Island of Dr. Moreau - (Bantam Classics) by H G Wells (Paperback)

About the Book

This new edition of Wells' provocative tale of the corruption of science features an introduction by Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams. A shipwrecked English traveler is stranded on a remote Pacific island, lorded over by a notorious vivisectionist trying to prove that animals can be surgically turned into humans.

Book Synopsis

Ranked among the classic novels of the English language and the inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early work of H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest from reviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted to know more about the wondrous possibilities of science shown in his first book, The Time Machine, not its potential for misuse and terror. In The Island of Dr. Moreau a shipwrecked gentleman named Edward Prendick, stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by the notorious Dr. Moreau, confronts dark secrets, strange creatures, and a reason to run for his life.

While this riveting tale was intended to be a commentary on evolution, divine creation, and the tension between human nature and culture, modern readers familiar with genetic engineering will marvel at Wells's prediction of the ethical issues raised by producing "smarter" human beings or bringing back extinct species. These levels of interpretation add a richness to Prendick's adventures on Dr. Moreau's island of lost souls without distracting from what is still a rip-roaring good read.

Review Quotes

"The Island of Dr. Moreau takes us into an abyss of human nature. This book is a superb piece of storytelling."
--V. S. Pritchett

About the Author

Peter Straub is the bestselling author of fourteen novels, including Black House (with Stephen King), Ghost Story, Koko, and Mr. X. He has won three Bram Stoker Awards, two World Fantasy Awards, and the British Fantasy Award. He lives in New York City.