Pre-Atomic Post-Apocalypse
Posted by: Keir
Great list on Listverse: “15 Influential Early Works of Apocalyptic Fiction” (via American Libraries Direct). It’s somewhat similar to the “End of the World Literature List” from AbeBooks, with the distinction that THESE post-apocalyptic works were all written pre-Atomic Age; both lists include earlier works than my “Core Collection: Before and After The Road” (although I was the only one to include the Book of Revelations).
I’m reprinting the titles here, but be sure to follow the link to read the very good annotations.
Le Dernier Homme (The Last Man), by Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville (1805)
The Last Man, by Mary Shelley (1826)
After London, by Richard Jeffries (1885)
Caesar’s Column, by Ignatius Donnelly (1890)
The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells (1895)
War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells (1898)
The Machine Stops, by E. M. Forster (1909)
The Night Land, by William Hope Hodgeson (1912)
The Scarlet Plague, by Jack London (1912)
R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), by Karel Capek (1921)
Last and First Men, by Olaf Stapledon (1930)
The Shape of Things to Come, by H. G. Wells (1933)
When Worlds Collide, by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie (1933)
Anthem, by Ayn Rand (1938)
Nightfall, by Isaac Asimov (1941)
Collect ‘em all, kids!
