The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)

Critter Country…


A mad scientist, a shipwrecked Englishman and a menagerie of strange and wondrous man-beasts…I’m tempted to think this is the plot of a naughty nightstand novel, but no…it’s H.G. Wells’ book of sideshow calamities, The Island of Dr. Moreau.

You can see Darwin dripping from between the pages of this novel…natural selection and all.  Little wonder, On the Origin of Species was still fresh in the British mind, social Darwinism was becoming all the rage and eugenics was in its infancy, ready to rear its ugly head for the coming century.  All of this just begged for a story that could add some entertainment to such a revolutionary, or should I say evolutionary, topic…

So with that said, here’s a first edition copy for your library…pleasant dreams…