Olaf Stapledon, a Man Divided


Book Description

In this study of the man and his work, one of America's best known critics demonstrates Stapledon's importance as a writer and his influence on many famous authors, especially Arthur C. Clarke. Also contains in-depth discussions of all of his major works, including Odd John, Sirius, Star Maker, and Last and First Men.




A Man Divided


Book Description

A Man Divided is a story by Olaf Stapledon. Stapledon was a British philosopher and author of science fiction. Excerpt: "This discovery that Victor had not been himself, and so had not betrayed our friendship, had a surprisingly deep effect on me. Evidently I had never quite realized how much the friendship had meant to me, and how its breakdown had disturbed the foundations of my mind. Now that the explanation had been given, I felt a rather extravagant elation, which I was at pains to conceal. Somehow the whole universe took on a different aspect. Friends might die, or might helplessly suffer a psychological change; but friendship remained, after all, a reliable thing."




Olaf Stapledon


Book Description

William Olaf Stapledon is best remembered for the extraordinary works of speculative fiction he published between 1930 and 1950. As a novelist, he was known as the spokesman for the Age of Einstein and has influenced writers as diverse as Virginia Woolf, Arthur C. Clarke, and Doris Lessing. This biography is the first to draw on a vast body of unpublished and private documents—interviews, correspondence, archival material, and papers in private hands—to reveal fully the internal struggles that shaped Stapledon's life and reclaim for public attention a distinctive voice of the modern era. Late in his life in an unpublished "letter to the future" Stapledon unwittingly provided the rationale for his biography: "It is just possible that my very obscurity may fit me to speak more faithfully for my period than any of its great unique personalities. A pacifist in World War I, an advocate of European unity and world government, one of the first teachers in the Workers' Educational Association, and an early protestor against apartheid, Stapledon turned utopian beliefs into practical politics. With roots in the shipping worlds of Devon, Liverpool, and the Suez Canal, he was transformed from a self-described provincial on the margins of English literary and political life into a visionary idealist who attracted the attention of scientists, journalists, and novelists, and, given his left-wing political affiliations, even the F.B.I. Stapledon's novels—Last and First Men, Star Maker, Odd John, and Sirius—have gathered a passionate following, and they have seldom been out of print in the last twenty-five years. But the personal experiences and political commitments that shaped this creative work have, until now, barely been known. Robert Crossley's work reveals how, in public and in private, in his social activism as in his fiction, Olaf Stapledon embodied many of the modern era's anxieties and hopes that allow his works to continue to speak to and for the future.




Star Maker


Book Description

Science fiction-roman.




Last and First Men


Book Description




Odd John


Book Description

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Odd John" by Olaf Stapledon. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.




Olaf Stapledon: Collected Works


Book Description

Enjoy this meticulously edited SF Collection, filled with space adventures, dystopian novels and apocalyptic tales:_x000D_ Novels:_x000D_ Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future_x000D_ Last Men in London_x000D_ Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest_x000D_ Star Maker_x000D_ Darkness and the Light_x000D_ Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord_x000D_ Death into Life_x000D_ Short Stories:_x000D_ The Flames (1947)_x000D_ The Seed and the Flower_x000D_ The Road to the Aide Post_x000D_ A Modern Magician_x000D_ East is West_x000D_ A World of Sounds_x000D_ Arms Out of Hand




The Complete Sci-Fi Works of Olaf Stapledon


Book Description

Enjoy this meticulously edited SF Collection, filled with space adventures, dystopian novels and apocalyptic tales: Novels: Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future Last Men in London Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest Star Maker Darkness and the Light Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord Death into Life Short Stories: The Flames (1947) The Seed and the Flower The Road to the Aide Post A Modern Magician East is West A World of Sounds Arms Out of Hand




Delphi Complete Works of Olaf Stapledon (Illustrated)


Book Description

The English novelist and philosopher Olaf Stapledon wrote intriguing histories of the future, which served as a major influence on the development of the science fiction genre. His debut novel, ‘Last and First Men’, covers a history of 18 successive species of humanity, while his magnum opus ‘Star Maker’ provides an outline history of the Universe over two billion years. His works are highly acclaimed by figures as diverse as Brian Aldiss, Jorge Luis Borges, J. B. Priestley, Bertrand Russell, Algernon Blackwood, Arnold Bennett, Virginia Woolf, C. S. Lewis and Winston Churchill. Stapledon used his novels as vehicles to present complex and thought-provoking philosophical ideas, employing themes of antiquity to fashion a myth of the future. This comprehensive eBook presents Stapledon’s complete fictional works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts appearing in digital print for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Stapledon’s life and works * Concise introductions to the novels * All 9 novels, with individual contents tables * Features rare novels appearing for the first time in digital publishing * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * Rare short stories, available in no other collection * Includes Stapledon’s rare poetry collection * A wide selection of Stapledon’s non-fiction * Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres Please note: the short story ‘The Man Who Became a Tree’ was first published in 2015 and so cannot appear due to copyright restrictions. CONTENTS: The Novels Last and First Men (1930) Last Men in London (1932) Odd John (1935) Star Maker (1937) Darkness and the Light (1942) Sirius (1944) Death into Life (1946) The Flames (1947) A Man Divided (1950) The Shorter Fiction The Short Stories of Olaf Stapledon The Poetry Latter-Day Psalms (1914) The Non-Fiction A Modern Theory of Ethics (1929) Waking World (1934) Youth and Tomorrow (1946) Interplanetary Man? (1948) Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks




Olaf Stapledon Collection (Father of Science-Fiction)


Book Description

This Excellent Collection brings together Stapledon's longer, major books and a fine selection of shorter pieces and Science-Fiction Books. This Books created and collected in Olaf Stapledon's Most important Works illuminate the life and work of one of the most individual writers of the XX century - a man who elevated political writing to an art. William Olaf Stapledon (1886-1950) is one of the great figures in the history of British science fiction. The philosophical depth and imaginative breadth of his novels signified an important stage in the development of the genre, inspiring and influencing many subsequent writers. As a lecturer for the Workers' Educational Association and The University of Liverpool, Stapledon began publishing academic essays in 1908 and took a doctorate in Philosophy in 1925. He was a relative late-comer to fiction but eventually found in this expansive form a means of exploring his complex ideas of 'community' and 'spirit'. Last and First Men coverIn 1930 he published his first novel, Last and First Men, followed by Odd John (1935), Star Maker (1937) and Sirius (1944). Although Stapledon wrote other works of fiction, these are the novels that made the greatest impact during his lifetime and which continue to receive widespread critical acclaim. This Collection included: · The Man Who Became a Tree · A Modern Magician · East Is West · Arms Out of Hand · A World of Sound · The Flames · The Road to the Aide Post · A Man Divided · Four Encounters · Death into Life · Last and First Men · Last Men in London · Odd John · Sirius · Star Maker · Nebula Maker · The Seed and the Flower · Far Future Calling