*** 1/2

The subtitle to this book - "Early tales of scientific imagination by women" - is a pretty good description of this anthology, which brings together 11 proto-scifi short stories by female authors of the 19th and early 20th century.

Is such a gender-based collection still needed in our day and age? Frankly, yes, and there are some very good reasons for this. First of all, in the early days of speculative fiction, women writers were at forefront of the genre, going beyond the frontiers of reality whether through supernatural tales or more "scientifically oriented" stories. This notwithstanding, there is still, sadly, a widespread mistaken impression that speculative fiction in general and sci-fi in particular are a male realm. This anthology comes as a welcome corrective.

Moreover, some of the featured stories have a decidedly proto-feminist theme which fits in well with the rationale behind the choices (in this regard, "The Sultana 's Dream" by Roquia Sakhawat Hossein, with its imagining of a Muslim female-led society, is nothing short of visionary).

Mike Ashley ferrets out some intriguing rarities alongside works by better-known authors such as Braddon and Mary Shelley, and provides a brief introduction which puts each story in context.

The literary quality varies and, on the basis of the featured stories, I wouldn't place, say, L.T.Meade or G.M. Barrows in the same league as Edith Nesbit. However, what is certainly consistent throughout the collection is the vividness of imagination of all authors concerned, whether they are writing about other galaxies, the distant future, marvellous discoveries or chilling experiments. ( )

*** 1/2

The subtitle to this book - "Early tales of scientific imagination by women" - is a pretty good description of this anthology, which brings together 11 proto-scifi short stories by female authors of the 19th and early 20th century.

Is such a gender-based collection still needed in our day and age? Frankly, yes, and there are some very good reasons for this. First of all, in the early days of speculative fiction, women writers were at forefront of the genre, going beyond the frontiers of reality whether through supernatural tales or more "scientifically oriented" stories. This notwithstanding, there is still, sadly, a widespread mistaken impression that speculative fiction in general and sci-fi in particular are a male realm. This anthology comes as a welcome corrective.

Moreover, some of the featured stories have a decidedly proto-feminist theme which fits in well with the rationale behind the choices (in this regard, "The Sultana 's Dream" by Roquia Sakhawat Hossein, with its imagining of a Muslim female-led society, is nothing short of visionary).

Mike Ashley ferrets out some intriguing rarities alongside works by better-known authors such as Braddon and Mary Shelley, and provides a brief introduction which puts each story in context.

The literary quality varies and, on the basis of the featured stories, I wouldn't place, say, L.T.Meade or G.M. Barrows in the same league as Edith Nesbit. However, what is certainly consistent throughout the collection is the vividness of imagination of all authors concerned, whether they are writing about other galaxies, the distant future, marvellous discoveries or chilling experiments. ( )

I really enjoyed this collection of 19th- and early 20th-century short stories by women. The phrase "tales of scientific imagination" is definitely more accurate than 'science fiction' - many of these deal with invention and discovery. It's great to explore the work of authors whose work has often fallen by the wayside, even though it may have been popular in its day, and to gain perspective on the attitudes of the time. Plus, many of these stories are just purely enjoyable!


The Blue Laboratory by L.T. Meade (1897): This is a classic 'mad scientist' story! A young governess is asked to assist her employer in his experiments, but her young charge lets her know that untoward things are happening in the laboratory. Her investigation leads her into danger...

The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley (1834): Hey, Frankenstein-lady! This short story by Shelley also explores her themes of the nature of life and humanity. An alchemist's assistant accidentally receives the elixir intended for his master, but the extended life he has received has brought him no pleasure...

The Moonstone Mass by Harriet Prescott Spofford (1868): An explorer lost in the Arctic encounters untold treasure, and nearly finds his death... Very similar in flavor to Lovecraft's 'At the Mountains of Madness,' but although this story is not as well-crafted, it did come first.

A Wife Manufactured to Order by Alice W. Fuller (1895): One of the most explicitly feminist of these stories, and also one of the more 'science-fictional' of the collection. A man discovers an inventor hawking feminine robots as 'wives,' advertising their beauty, courtesy and inability to talk back (as they only 'speak' in prerecorded phrases.) The guy in question thinks this is a great idea... until he realizes that his old girlfriend (an independent woman with a mind of her own) actually has far more to offer than a clockwork-and-wax figure.

Good Lady Ducayne by Mary Elzabeth Braddon (1896): The only one of this collection that I'd previously read. I'd read it in a vampire-themed anthology. It is neither a vampire story nor a science fiction story. It is a very well-crafted, dark and gothic tale. Worth the re-read.

The Hall Bedroom by Mary Wilkins Freeman (1903): I'm back to being reminded of Lovecraft! This story is very similar in feel and theme to 'Dreams in the Witch House.' I have to say, again, that this story is not quite as good - but it was written first. A woman entrepreneur starts a rooming house - but one of her lodgers disappears... and he's not the first to have disappeared from that room.

The Curious Experience of Thomas Dunbar by G.M. Barrows (1904): A man awakes after an industrial accident - with super-strength! Unfortunately, that's it. It reads more like the beginning of a story than a finished piece.

The Sultana's Dream by Roquia Sakhawat Hossain (1905): Almost more of an essay than a story, this piece by an Indian woman is explicitly feminist, talks about the repressive treatment of women in traditional Indian society, and offers a utopian(?) view of a society in which the position of the genders is reversed. Not really a great 'story,' but very interesting to read, especially in the context of the body of science fiction published much later which posited sex-segregated future societies.

The Five Senses by Edith Nesbit (1909): I expected to like this one a bit more than I did. Good ideas, but it got a little repetitive in execution. A young scientist is conflicted by his fiancee's strong opposition to vivisection - on which his career depends. The animal-lover eventually gives him an ultimatum, and he moves on to experimenting on himself...

Lady Clanbevan's Baby by Clotilde Graves (1915): A horror story with similar themes to that of Shelley's - focusing on the unnatural and terrible aspects of an artificially extended life and youth...

Monsieur Fly-by-Night by Muriel Pollexfen (1915): The author's surname, combined with the fact that this is an adventure tale, reminded me of the character Mrs Pollifax. Coincidence? Probably. Anyway, this story of a daring rescue of a princess by a flying ace, combined with a political coup, somehow seemed like it ought to be more exciting than it was. My attention kept wandering. Maybe my fault.

The Ultimate Ingredient by Greye La Spina (1919): A mad scientist becomes the Invisible Man (though this story does not pre-date Wells' Invisible Man) - and has psychopathic murder on his mind, in order to continue his dastardly experiments. A well-crafted pulp adventure.

The Miracle of the Lily by Clare Winger Harris (1928): OK, this one is a bona fide science fiction story (and remarkably modern-feeling). Set in the thirtieth century, we see a barren earth, destroyed by plagues of insects. The insects have been defeated, but humanity is dependent on artificial oxygen manufactories. However, audio communication with the natives of Venus reveal that they are currently facing a similar plague. The Venusians hope that Earth can counsel them on how to survive... I won't give away the ending, but this is an excellent story, on a par with some of the best classic sci-fi shorts.

The Earth Slept: A Vision by Adeline Knapp: A short and optimistic view of the passage of time... ( )

Although it is (IMO) questionable as to whether all these stories are really science fiction, or even proto-sci-fi, they are all very interesting and I enjoyed reading them. A worthy companion volume to the editor's prior collection of Victorian/Edwardian women writers, The Darker Sex: Tales of the Supernatural and Macabre by Victorian Women Writers.

The Stories are:

The Blue Laboratory by L.T. Meade: Mad doctor, abominable medical experiments, young woman in mortal danger in a countdown to death! A good one to start off the collection.

The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley: The only story in the collection I'd read previously and a strong offering from, arguably, the progenetrix of science fiction. However, is this a sci-fi story? I don't think so - the "technology" here is alchemy, which is a spiritual tradition with only the surface trappings of the true science of chemistry. That aside, a very good tale.

The Moonstone Mass by Harriet Prescott Spofford: Even the editor seems to have qualms about including this story in a sci-fi collection, as he says it is the spirit of enquiry, of exploring geographical regions then unknown to science (to boldly go...?) that has warranted this story's inclusion. By that argument, King Solomon's Mines could be classed as sci-fi. So, perhaps this shouldn't have been in the collection, but... it's very good! A journey to the Arctic to find the North-West Passage ends with the protagonist adrift in unknown regions. It reminded me somewhat of Lord Dunsany and early H.P. Lovecraft.

A Wife Manufactured to Order by Alice W. Fuller: Basically, "The Stepford Wives". In which it is shown that men are idiots.

Good Lady Ducane by Mary Elzabeth Braddon: More of a Gothic romance with a medical element than SF. I've recently read The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins, and this story put me rather in mind of Collins's novel. The story has some good characterisations in it and I was chuckling in places. I really enjoyed this one.

The Hall Bedroom by Mary Wilkins Freeman: Creepy! It's almost a ghost story in feel, but it's actually about accessing other dimensions. A bit Clark Ashton Smith-y, and leaves much to the readers imagination, in the best way.

The Curious Experience of Thomas Dunbar by G.M. Barrows: This would make a great super-hero origin story. Eccentric scientist aids recovery of the man he's accidentally injured; a hidden laboratory where things go disastrously wrong during an experiment; a strange new element with mysterious properties; a daring rescue by the providentially empowered hero.

The Sultana's Dream by Roquia Sakhawat Hossain: A Utopian fantasy which asks the question, "What if women instead of men assumed the dominant role in Indian society?" The answer, Everything would be better, even though men are now repressed in exactly the same way that women are repressed in the narrator's waking life. Apparently, women just make better decisions. We won't know until we try it, will we? Again, not sure is this is really sci-fi as it's presented as a dream rather than an actualised society.

The Five Senses by Edith Nesbit: One of the best stories in the collection. Science versus sentiment; pros and cons of vivisection; medical experimentation (gone wrong, obviously); the horrifying prospect of premature burial. What a versatile writer Nesbit was. Her "weird" fiction is usually very chilling, but she's also responsible for well-loved children's classics like The Railway Children and Three Children and It. People are complex, aren't they?

Lady Clanbevan's Baby by Clotilde Graves: Similarish idea to The Picture of Dorian Gray, but the ending really threw me. I wasn't sure if Graves's intent was shock, humour or a mix of the two. As I reacted in the third way, I hope that's what she was going for. It was kind of like the end to a Little Britain sketch!

Monsieur Fly-by-Night by Muriel Pollexfen: What a brilliant authorial name! And my absolute favourite story in the collection. This is a cross between the Ruritanian romance of The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope and a Steampunk adventure. I imagined the whole story shot as a Studio Ghibli anime: Mysterious, youthful and adventurous "Sky Captain" is called upon to use his miraculous airship to help rescue the princess of a mid-European pocket-country from her dastardly uncle Osric, who is fomenting revolution!

I so wish that Pollexfen had done a series of stories about Maxton Domville, "Monsieur Fly-by-Night"!

The Ultimate Ingredient by Greye La Spina: Reminiscent of H.G. Wells's The Invisible Man or Jack London's The Shadow and the Flash. Another dastardly doctor - were Edwardian woman really as distrustful of the medical profession as would appear from this selection of stories?

The Miracle of the Lily by Clare Winger Harris: A very well told story of environmental collapse, mass extinction, evolutionary impetus, scientific and social sterility. The narrative form is a series of journal entries by members of the same family over the course of centuries. I really liked this one, too.

The Earth Slept: A Vision by Adeline Knapp: In which we learn that you can't stop the march of evolutionary progress and that rampant capitalism is bad.

And that's it: a great book of brilliant stories. ( )