Promethean Horrors: Classic Tales of Mad Science
From the imaginations of Gothic short-story writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mary Shelley and H. P. Lovecraft came one of the most complex of villains – the mad scientist. Promethean Horrors presents some of the greatest mad scientists ever created, as each cautionary tale explores the consequences of pushing nature too far.
These savants take many forms: there are malcontents who strive to create poisonous humans; technologists obsessed with genetic splicing; mesmerists interested in the way consciousness operates after death and inventors who believe in a hidden reality. United by an unhealthy obsession with wanting to reach beyond their circumstances, these mad scientists are marked by their magical capacity to alter the present, a gift that always comes at a price. . .
Xavier Aldana Reyes
Xavier Aldana Reyes is Reader in English Literature and Film at Manchester Metropolitan University and a founding member of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. He works across modern and contemporary literature, cinema and television, from the early twentieth century to the present day.
British Library Tales of the Weird
British Library Tales of the Weird consists of fifty-six books, and the series is set to expand with the upcoming release of three more books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.