In the nineteenth century, time travel fiction often imagined exciting, utopian futures. However, these stories were often told from the perspective of a middle-class, white, male protagonist who doesn't really need a better life. Later in the twentieth century, writers would use science fiction genre to imagine alternative realities for those who genuinely need it. In... Continue Reading →
New Podcast: H.G. Wells in Focus
H.G. Wells published over 150 books across many different genres, but he is most famous for his scientific prophecies, such as The Time Machine. In this podcast, Simon James identifies how Wells was inspired by contemporary developments in science to envision a future yet to come. Nineteenth-century discoveries in geology expanded the ways in which Victorians... Continue Reading →
Can Novelists Predict the Future? (Public talk, 26th July)
Sometimes novels make predictions about the future that turn out to be true. Are they lucky guesses, shrewd insight, or a sign that creative imagination can be prophetic? And what do today's novelists prophesise? Join novelist and physicist Andrew Crumey to find out at this free talk on 26th July at 13.00. Some predictions are... Continue Reading →
New Podcast: An Introduction to Time Machines
Time travel is not just a feature of niche science fiction. All stories are 'time machines' of a sort: every time we read a book or recount our experiences to someone else, we also travel imaginatively backwards and forwards through time. In this podcast, Simon James and Jennifer Terry introduce the main themes of Palace Green Library's... Continue Reading →
Shaping the Future: How Feminist Utopian Novels Used New Concepts of Time to Create Better Worlds for Everyone (Public Talk, 19th July)
What does relativity theory have to do with utopia, and why are both featured in Palace Green Library’s current exhibition on time travel literature? Find out at this free public talk on 19th July, starting at 13.00 in Palace Green Library. In this talk, Sarah Lohmann will investigate how certain novelists of the late 20th... Continue Reading →