The Island of Doctor Moreau is a classic work of early science fiction and one of H. G. Wells’ most visionary novels. It recounts the harrowing ordeal of Edward Prendick, an Englishman who survives a shipwreck in the southern Pacific Ocean. Rescued by a man named Montgomery, Prendick finds himself on an island belonging to Dr. Moreau, formerly an eminent physiologist in London who was expelled from his homeland for his cruel vivisection experiments.
Prendick discovers that Moreau has been creating hideous hybrids of beasts and man in the name of science with an unnerving, sinister disregard for the anguish of his test subjects. Fearing for his life, Prendick flees into the jungle where he joins a colony of half-human/half-animal creatures while he undertakes efforts to escape. Meantime, the true consequences of Moreau’s experiments emerge and Prendick is imperiled by forces he can barely comprehend, let alone control. This gruesome tale, as haunting as it is enduring, brilliantly anticipates questions that persist today-what limits, if any, should be imposed in the pursue of science and at what price?
This Warbler Classics edition includes an image gallery of animal species that feature in the story and a detailed biographical timeline.
Table des matières
Contents
Introduction 1
I. In the Dinghy of the ‘Lady Vain’ 3
II. The Man Who Was Going Nowhere 6
III. The Strange Face 9
IV. At the Schooner’s Rail 14
V. The Landing on the Island 18
VI. The Evil-Looking Boatmen 22
VII. The Locked Door 27
VIII. The Crying of the Puma 32
IX. The Thing in the Forest 35
X. The Crying of the Man 44
XI. The Hunting of the Man 48
XII. The Sayers of the Law 53
XIII. A Parley 61
XIV. Doctor Moreau Explains 66
XV. Concerning the Beast Folk 76
XVI. How the Beast Folk Tasted Blood 81
XVII. A Catastrophe 93
XVIII. The Finding of Moreau 98
XIX. Montgomery’s ‘Bank Holiday’ 102
XX. Alone with the Beast Folk 109
XXI. The Reversion of the Beast Folk 114
XXII. The Man Alone 125
Image Gallery of Featured Species 129
Biographical Timeline 132