Doctor Lerne

Often hailed as the best French science fiction writer of the early 20th century, Maurice Renard coined the term “Scientific Marvel Fiction” to pen a series of gripping, ground-breaking stories that owe as much to Edgar Allan Poe as they do to H.-G. Wells. Until now, Renard was best known to the English-speaking public for his thrice-filmed thriller, The Hands of Orlac. Dedicated to Wells, Maurice Renard’s Doctor Lerne (1908) features a mad scientist who performs organ transplants not only between men and animals, but also with plants, and even machines. It is the first of a series of five volumes, translated and annotated by Brian Stableford, devoted to presenting the classic works of this pioneering giant of French science fiction. This volume also includes “Mr Dupont’s Vacation” (1905), a story about dinosaurs returning to life, and Renard’s 1909 revolutionary manifesto on “Scientific Marvel Fiction.”