Books

FIRST EDITION, title in red and black, occasional light thumbing, published red cloth, title and author stamped in gilt, device in black, spine lightly faded, slight shelf lean, light toning to front free endpaper, inner hinge starting to crack, 8vo, London, C. Arthur Pearson, 1897 The famous science fiction novel was originally serialised in Pearson s Weekly in 1897, later the same year it was published in book form. Well s inspiration from the story is diverse, including both The Perils of invisibility from Bab Ballads by W.S. Gilber and Plato s Republic. The character of Griffin, a scientist who turns himself into an invisible man but is unable to turn himself back, has become an iconic character in horror fiction. The cultural pervasiveness of the invisible man has led to everything from his cameo in an episode of Tom and Jerry to the Queen song The Invisible Man. [Allen Grove, Alfred University].

H.G. Wells's "The Invisible Man" tells the story of a scientist named Griffin who discovers the secret to becoming invisible. With themes of unchecked scientific ambition and the consequences of isolation, this novel remains one of Wells's most enduring and thought-provoking works.