Wells, H[erbert] G[eorge]. THE INVISIBLE MAN: A GROTESQUE ROMANCE... London: C. Arthur Pearson Limited, 1897. Octavo, pp. [i-vi] vii-viii [1] 2-245 [246: printer's imprint] [247-248: ads] [note: first leaf is a blank preceding half title leaf], title page printed in orange and black, original pictorial red cloth, front panel stamped in black and gold, spine panel stamped in gold. First edition. "Amoral scientist discovers invisibility, but even this fails in the face of invincible obtuseness and cruelty of petty bourgeois England. Brilliant idea, memorable scenes, and vigorous chase-plot in an ambiguous (and scientifically impossible) tale." – Suvin, Victorian Science Fiction in the UK, p. 70. Filmed in 1933 by James Whale with Claude Rains as the Invisible Man from a screen play by R.C. Sherriff and Preston Sturges and Philip Wylie (the latter two unaccredited). Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 2-163. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 2330. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 797. A near fine copy, rear hinge starting, text block age darkened at edges, corners a little 'soft', some age fade to spine, front cover bright.

[Book #11268]       Price: $4,500.00