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Loading... Le centenaire (edition 1969)by Honoré de Balzac, BALZAC HONORE DE (Auteur)
Work InformationThe Centenarian: Or, The Two Beringhelds (Early Classics of Science Fiction) by Honoré de Balzac (Author)
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Written for serial publication in 1822 under the pseudonym Horace de Saint-Aubin, this Faustian tale by Balzac has never before been available in English. More than a long-lost curiosity by an important writer, The Centenarian is also a seminal work of early science fiction, crucial to understanding both the development of the genre and the craft of this great author. Beringheld, a 400-year-old "mad scientist," discovered the fluid necessary to human life, but he must extract the vital fluid of others to enlarge his own powers. Balzac intertwines the mythic and the modern in ways that would prove enormously influential to science fiction. Like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, this novel bridges the gap that separates alchemy and magic from the practice and problems of science. It is also crucial to an understanding of Balzac's oeuvre, as it anticipates significant themes of power, knowledge, and secrecy. This Wesleyan edition features notes, appendices, and a critical introduction. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)843.7Literature French French fiction Constitutional monarchy 1815–48LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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