Line #1 Literature/IsaacAsimovPresentsTheBestScienceFictionOfThe19thCentury


1	First published in 1981 by editors Creator/IsaacAsimov, Creator/MartinHGreenberg, and Creator/CharlesGWaugh, this GenreAnthology contains fifteen ScienceFiction stories, ranging in length from ShortStory to {{Novelette}}. The introduction describes the Industrial Revolution as the first occasion in which technology would change scientific knowledge within a person's lifetime. Because of the rapid pace of technology and social change, this century saw the birth of ScienceFiction.
2	----
3	!!Works in this anthology:
4	* "Introduction: The First Century of Science Fiction", by Creator/IsaacAsimov
5	[[index]]
6	* "Literature/TheSandman1816", by Creator/ETAHoffmann (1816)
7	* "Literature/TheMortalImmortal", by Creator/MaryShelley (1833)
8	* "Literature/ADescentIntoTheMaelstrom", by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe (1841)
9	* "Literature/RappaccinisDaughter", by Creator/NathanielHawthorne (1844)
10	* "Literature/TheClockThatWentBackwards", by Creator/EdwardPageMitchell (1881)
11	* "Literature/IntoTheSun", by Creator/RobertDuncanMilne (1882)
12	* "Literature/ATaleOfNegativeGravity", by Creator/FrankRStockton (1884)
13	* "Literature/TheHorlaOrModernGhosts", by Creator/GuyDeMaupassant (1887)
14	* "Literature/TheShapes", by Creator/JHRosnyAine (1887)
15	* "Literature/ToWhomThisMayCome", by Creator/EdwardBellamy (1889)
16	* "Literature/TheGreatKeinplatzExperiment", by Creator/ArthurConanDoyle (1885)
17	* "Literature/InTheAbyss", by Creator/HGWells (1896)
18	* "Literature/TheThamesValleyCatastrophe", by Creator/GrantAllen (1897)
19	* "Literature/TheLizard", by Creator/CJCutcliffeHyne (1898)
20	* "Literature/AThousandDeaths", by Creator/JackLondon (1899)
21	[[/index]]
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23	!!''Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century'' provides examples of:
24	* CharacterNarrator:
25	** "Literature/AThousandDeaths", by Creator/JackLondon, has [[NoNameGiven an unnamed person]] narrating the events of the story.
26	** "Literature/TheLizard", by Creator/CJCutcliffeHyne, features a GentlemanAdventurer by the name of Chesney who tells the story as if it were printed in a newspaper and was an accounting of events that occured two years ago.
27	** "Literature/TheMortalImmortal", by Creator/MaryShelley, has Winzy telling the story about how he became immortal and what happened to his [[MayflyDecemberRomance long-dead love]].
28	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: "Literature/AThousandDeaths", by Creator/JackLondon, has the CharacterNarrator going through hundreds of deaths at the hands of their father and his two slaves. They experienced death by electrocution, asphyxiation, poison (only three categories, avoiding mineral irritants and corrosives, but including curare), being stored as dead for anywhere between four hours and three months between deaths.
29	* DisintegratorRay: "Literature/AThousandDeaths", by Creator/JackLondon, has the protagonist create a disintegration field based on electrolysis and the hypothetical "apergy" (reverse of the gravitational force). By concealing the batteries which powered the device, the protagonist is able to eliminate the people who had imprisoned him for [[CruelAndUnusualDeath hundreds of different deaths]]. The device dissolved organic forms into a small pile of their constituent elements, turning most of the mass into ozone gas.
30	* {{Epigraph}}: "Literature/ADescentIntoTheMaelstrom", by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe, is prefaced by a short quote from Creator/JosephGlanville, describing how [[InMysteriousWays ineffable God and Nature]] are.
31	--> "The ways of God in Nature, as in Providence, are not as our ways; nor are the models that we frame any way commensurate to the vastness, profundity, and unsearchableness of His works, which have a depth in them greater than the well of Democritus." '''Creator/JosephGlanville'''
32	* GenreAnthology: ScienceFiction stories only, restricted to options available from "the first century of science fiction"; the 1800s. Each story is prefaced with a short {{Biography}} of the author, and presented in chronological order of publication.
33	* GentlemanAdventurer: "Literature/TheLizard", by Creator/CJCutcliffeHyne, features Chesney, who enjoys hunting most of all, but is also a spelunker who decided to explore a new cave system he found in August two years ago. He would've taken along his gameskeeper, but the man was too superstitious to go along, so Chesney went out to explore himself, discovering a dinosaur!
34	* ImmortalityInducer: "Literature/TheMortalImmortal", by Creator/MaryShelley, has an Elixir of Immortality created by the [[{{UsefulNotes/Alchemy}} alchemist]] Cornelius Agrippa. It grants eternal youth and immunity to old age, but not against violent death.
35	* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: This anthology has Creator/IsaacAsimov's name preface the title, because his name would sell more books than Creator/CharlesGWaugh or Creator/MartinHGreenberg.
36	* MayflyDecemberRomance: "Literature/TheMortalImmortal", by Creator/MaryShelley, has a romantic relationship between Bertha, a normal human woman, and Winzy, a human who drank an [[ImmortalityInducer Elixir of Immortality]]. The story continues past Bertha's death, and Winzy's decision to never fall in love again.
37	* MegaMaelstrom: In "Literature/ADescentIntoTheMaelstrom", a ShortStory by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe, the title refers to the Moskoe-ström, named by the local Norwegians. It sits still for perhaps fifteen minutes, when the tide changes. The rest of the time, it's a dangerous whirlpool which can be heard from leagues away, and local storms make the maelstrom worse.
38	* MinimalisticCoverArt: The original cover background is a bright red, with "the Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century" in white, and the rest of the text in yellow. The only text is the title and credit to the editors.
39	* NamelessNarrative: In "Literature/ADescentIntoTheMaelstrom", a ShortStory by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe, the characters are never given names. Islands, mountains, cities, and the [[MegaMaelstrom Moskoe-ström]] are named, but only adjectives are used for human characters. This effect draws the reader to focus on the Man versus Nature {{Conflict}} in the story.
40	* NoNameGiven: "Literature/AThousandDeaths", by Creator/JackLondon, names none of the characters involved, not even [[CharacterNarrator the narrator of the events]]. With only one line of dialogue, there wasn't much opportunity to name the characters, either. The main antagonist is the protagonist's father, and is referred to only in that manner.
41	* PoisonousPerson: In "Rappaccini's Daughter", an 1844 ShortStory by Creator/NathanielHawthorne, the title girl has been given a poisonous touch and breath by her father in a misguided effort to protect her from the evils of the world:
42	-->'''[[KnightTemplarParent Rappaccini:]]''' What mean you, foolish girl? [[BlessedWithSuck Dost thou deem it misery to be endowed with marvellous gifts]], against which no power nor strength could avail an enemy? Misery, to be able to quell the mightiest with a breath? Misery, to be as terrible as thou art beautiful? Wouldst thou, then, have preferred the condition of a weak woman, exposed to all evil, and capable of none?
43	* ShoutOut: In the introduction, Creator/IsaacAsimov mentions several works:
44	** ''Literature/TheOdyssey'', by {{Creator/Homer}} is the "first" ScienceFiction story, assuming you defined it as formal literature that deals with the imaginative and unfamiliar because it has one-eyed giants, witches, and monsters.
45	** ''Literature/TrueHistory'', by Creator/LucianOfSamosata, is the "first" ScienceFiction story, assuming you defined it as literature that was "science-fictionish". This [[TheQuest travelogue]] features a protagonist who travels to the moon in a waterspout.
46	** ''{{Literature/Somnium}}'', by Creator/JohannKepler, is the "first" ScienceFiction story, assuming you defined it as literature that used unusual scientific facts as part of the plot, such as a two-week long day and two-week long night on the moon.
47	** ''{{Literature/Frankenstein}}'', by Creator/MaryShelley, is the "first" ScienceFiction story, assuming you defined it as showing the rapid change of society due to technological advancement.
48	** ''Literature/FiveWeeksInABalloon'' is notable because it was Creator/JulesVerne's first "great" success, making him the first author to rely exclusively on his ScienceFiction stories for income.
49	* StableTimeLoop: The UrExample in fiction is "Literature/TheClockThatWentBackwards", an 1881 ShortStory by Creator/EdwardPageMitchell. Two students at the University of Leyden learn about a pivotal battle that occurred there 300 years earlier, then find themselves hurtled back to the battle and becoming key players in the outcome.
50	* WhoWantsToLiveForever: "Literature/TheMortalImmortal", by Creator/MaryShelley, has Winzy, who drank an [[ImmortalityInducer Elixir of Immortality]] created by Cornelius Agrippa. Winzy drank the elixir due to a misunderstanding of its nature (he thought it would cure his love), and discovers that the major problem with immortality is that everyone he knows will die.

Context Literature / IsaacAsimovPresentsTheBestScienceFictionOfThe19thCentury