Overview

Dangerous Creations presents a master narrative of the inventor in fin-de-siecle French literature by analyzing the works of Jules Verne, Albert Robida, mile Zola, and Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. Their writings challenge the role of science in shaping French national identity and aim to transform contemporary understandings of science and technology. The book reveals how Verne, Robida, Zola, and de l'Isle-Adam reimagine the figure of the inventor, reshaping the literary standards of their time. Universally male in these narratives, the inventor serves as a flawed exemplar of national heroism during the Age of Empire a period marked by significant external threats and internal strife while also embodying unrestrained creativity. Ultimately, the inventor novel reflects broader French anxieties surrounding scientific progress, empire, and gender. Ana Oancea explores the transmedia and transnational legacy of the fin-de-siecle inventor novel through vignettes that highlight similarly themed narratives in contemporary popular culture. These sections engage with films, television series, graphic narratives, and video games that reinterpret key aspects of the inventor narrative, shedding light on its power structures, racial and gender politics, and colonial aspirations.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ana I. Oancea
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:   Width: 16.00cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.60cm
Weight:   0.560kg
ISBN:  

9781487546229

ISBN 10:   148754622
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   29 July 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Triumph of Official Science in Jules Verne’s Voyages extraordinaires The Responsibilities of Official Scientists  The Scientist as National Hero Further Avatars of Official Science  In Popular Culture: Official Science to the Rescue! 2. The Rise and Fall of Inventors’ Private Science Becoming an Inventor A Unique Intelligence and Sensibility A Scientific and Artistic Demonstration A Mad Genius Verne’s Engineers The Menace of Private Science  In Popular Culture: Nikola Tesla as the Inventor 3. Inventors’ Hypertechnological World in Albert Robida’s Le Vingtième Siècle The Social and Cultural Impact of Technological Growth Humanity Redefined through Technology The World of Prominent Inventors  In Popular Culture: Female Inventors in Contemporary Dystopian Narratives 4. Inventing the Future of Naturalism in Emile Zola’s Travail Naturalist Technology Zola’s Inventor and the Utopian Technology of Travail Rewriting Humanity and Heredity  In Popular Culture: Technology and/as the Community in Westworld 5. The Language of Artificial Life in Villiers de l’Isle-Adam’s L’Eve future Edison and the Phonograph in the French Press Villiers’s Inventor versus His Models, Faust and Prometheus Artificial Life Science and Literature  In Popular Culture: Villiers’s Android Reimagined as an Inventor Conclusion

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Author Information

Ana Oancea is an assistant professor of French at the University of Delaware.

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