The wonder / J.D. Beresford ; introduction to the Bison Books edition by Jack L. Chalker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beresford, J. D. (John Davys), 1873-1947.

Series:

Bison frontiers of imagination

Standardized Title:

Hampdenshire wonder

Language:

English

Genre:

Science fiction.

Fiction.

Physical Description:

ix, 295 pages ; 21 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, [1999]

Summary:

Nothing will ever mystify or challenge the Wonder. He masters entire libraries and languages with little effort. No equation, no problem is too difficult to solve. His casual conversations with ministers and philosophers decimate their vaunted beliefs and crush their cherished intellectual ambitions. The Wonder compels obedience and silence with a glance. His mother idolizes him as a god. Yet no one is more hated or alone than the Wonder.

This is the chilling tale of Victor Stott, an English boy born thousands of years ahead of his time. Raised in the village of Hampdenshire, the strangely proportioned young Victor possesses mental abilities vastly superior to those of his fellow villagers. The incomprehensible intellect and powers of the Wonder inspire awe, provoke horror, and eventually threaten to rip apart Hampdenshire.

Long recognized as a classic of speculative fiction but never before widely available, The Wonder is one of the first novels about a "superman." J. D. Beresford's subtle and intriguing story of a boy with superhuman abilities paved the way for such noted works as Philip Wylie's Gladiator and A. E. van Vogt's Slan.

Contents:

Part I My Early Associations With Ginger Stott

Chapter I. The Motive 3

Chapter II. Notes for a Biography of Ginger Stott 14

Chapter III. The Disillusionment of Ginger Stott 52

Part II The Childhood of the Wonder

Chapter IV. The Manner of His Birth 65

Chapter V. His Departure from Stoke-Underhill 86

Chapter VI. His Father's Desertion 101

Chapter VII. His Debt to Henry Challis 113

Chapter VIII. His First Visit to Challis Court 139

Interlude 145

Part II (continued) The Wonder Among Books

Chapter IX. His Passage Through the Prison of Knowledge 151

Chapter X. His Pastors and Masters 175

Chapter XI. His Examination 189

Chapter XII. Fugitive 213

Part III My Association with the Wonder

Chapter XIII. How I Went to Pym to Write a Book 219

Chapter XIV. The Incipience of My Subjection to the Wonder 230

Chapter XV. The Progress and Relaxation of My Subjection 251

Chapter XVI. Release 268

Chapter XVII. Implications 283

Epilogue: The Uses of Mystery 289.

ISBN:

0803261624

OCLC:

41531894