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The Island of Dr. Moreau (Bantam Classics)
 
 
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The Island of Dr. Moreau (Bantam Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

H.G. Wells (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)

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Book Description

May 1, 1994 0553214322 978-0553214321
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.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

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


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Review

"The Broadview Edition of The Island of Doctor Moreau restores this greatest of all post-Darwinian island fables to its original context. In his introduction, Mason Harris provides a lively account of the evolutionary debates that influenced the novel's construction and an informative overview of criticism to date. Appendices show the controversy generated by Moreau's publication, situate the final text alongside early drafts and Wells's journalism, and reprint scientific and literary sources crucial to understanding the novel. This edition will appeal to both those in the academy and the general reader, and is to be strongly recommended." (Steven McLean, H.G. Wells Society )

"Mason Harris provides the reader with essential connections between The Island of Doctor Moreau and the scientific and philosophical debates that raged in the Victorian world. This edition provides vital insight that allows the reader to slice through the shadows of Moreau's House of Pain and emerge into the true turn-of-the-century horror that H.G. Wells constructed. The appendices, including samples of Wells's scientific journalism, help bring focus to the complexity of the author's vision." (Eric Cash, editor of The Undying Fire: The Journal of The H.G. Wells Society, the Americas, 2001-2005 ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam Classics (May 1, 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0553214322
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553214321
  • Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.3 x 6.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #591,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
110 of 117 people found the following review helpful
Perhaps Wells' Finest Novel February 5, 2004
Format:Paperback
Although it is less often read than such Wells novels as THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, the basic story of THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU is very well known through several extremely loose film adaptations. Pendrick, a British scientist, is shipwrecked--and by chance finds himself on an isolated island where Dr. Moreau and his assistant Montgomery are engaged in a series of experiments. They are attempting to transform animals into manlike beings.

Wells, a social reformer, was a very didactic writer, and his novels reflect his thoughts and theories about humanity. Much of Wells writing concerns (either directly or covertly) social class, but while this exists in MOREAU it is less the basic theme than an undercurrent. At core, the novel concerns the then-newly advanced theory of natural selection--and then works to relate how that theory impacts man's concept of God. Wells often touched upon this, and in several novels he broaches the thought that if mankind evolved "up" it might just as easily evolve "down," but nowhere in his work is this line of thought more clearly and specifically seen than here.

At times Wells' determination to teach his reader can overwhelm; at times it can become so subtle that it is nothing short of absolutely obscure. But in THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, Wells achieves a perfect balance of the two extremes, even going so far as to balance the characters in such a way that not even the narrator emerges as entirely sympathetic. It is a remarkable achievement, and in this sense I consider MOREAU possibly the best of Wells work: the novel is as interesting for the story it tells as it is for still very relevant themes it considers.

It is also something of an oddity among Wells work, for while Wells often included elements of horror and savagery in his novels, MOREAU is not so much horrific as it is disturbingly gruesome and occasionally deliberately distasteful. This is not really a book than you can read and then put away: it lingers in your mind in a most unsettling way. Strongly recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is less known than Wells' other works like The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, but in many ways it exceeds these other, more popular works. This novel is a story essentially about the nature of humanity. What is it that makes us people? What, exactly, separates man from the beasts? Wells' insidious Dr. Moreau is the perfect character to explore these questions as he has no conscience. As you read this book you find yourself identifying more with the "beasts" than with the Dr. or his assistant; and you find yourself wondering whether or not the noble beasts are in fact more human than the human characters. This work is decades before its' time; as today genetic research and animal rights are garnering more attention and headlines. I believe Wells was somehow able to see these issues decades ago when he wrote this story; and it remains one of the most salient writings on the topic to date. I heartily endorse this book for any fan of science fiction. Enjoy!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By CB
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I got this on Kindle simply because it looked interesting and was $0.00. Once I began to preview the book to determine whether or not I was going to keep in on my Kindle or delete it...I couldn't put it down! The language is somewhat dated however, it adds to the story line and keeps the events back in the time they should be rather than allowing them to creep into today's timeframe. It is so interesting to read something that was written that long ago and let your imagination decide how it may pertain to today's life in the form of genetic, hybrid and biological engineering. The fictional events on The Island of Dr. Moreau seem as though they could be going on in the local university biology research lab and hidden from the public eye. Typically I'm not into science fiction reads but this may be a turning point for me. I enjoyed this book a great deal and have recommended it to several friends to read. Enjoy!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Eerily realistic and prophetic
It has lately come to my attention that I am a huge H. G. Wells fan. Not that I have a problem with that, I just somehow managed to not notice until recently. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Nora
Still scary and disturbing.
It isn't a surprise that The Island of Dr. Moreau is often listed as one of top 100 novels of all time. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Chris McCaffrey
Beastly
Between 1895 and 1901 Wells produced not one but five "scientific romances" (the term science fiction didn't come into vogue until the 1920s) that would revolutionize the genre:... Read more
Published 28 days ago by Steve Reina
Period Piece
H. G. Wells's The Island of Doctor Moreau is best read as a period piece. A materialist speculation on the singularity of man and the evolutionary theory spurred by Darwin is... Read more
Published 1 month ago by James G. Bruen Jr.
A classic
I totally enjoyed this book. I have seen a movie adaptation and it did not live up to the book.In the book the reader can create the horriable experiment gone wrong. Read more
Published 1 month ago by KBosch
Moreau and the 99%
It had been years since I read this work. But needing something to hold my attention recently at the gym, I was delighted to rediscover my childhood fascination with Wells. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Karl Meiner
Excellent Book
This is another free book and thanks to those who are making these classics available -- you are doing a great service for literature. Read more
Published 2 months ago by AndrewMPrice
the island of doctor moreau
book is very well writen. it is an classic I enjoyed it through it is an older book it keeps the attention of the reader, there is a movie on this book but the book is better.
Published 2 months ago by Sally M. Tenney
SCI-FI or Psycho Thriller?
I watched the 1977 movie when I was a teen but not the 1996 remake. Admittedly, I also have a tendency to steer clear of "old" science fiction, believing it to be farcical. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Thumper
A rightful classic
One of the quickest reads in the H.G. Wells arsenal, and much more sensible than the Val Kilmer / Marlon Brando film it inspired. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lincoln Rodman
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