French Tales of Mad Scientists Volume 3

The mad scientist is a stereotypical, archetypal scientist who is often a cliché or commonplace in popular fiction. He can be absent-minded and harmless, or wicked and dangerous. French science fiction, in particular, features a remarkable number of novels and stories on this theme, enough to justify the three volumes that we intend to devote to this topic.

In this thematic collection we have gathered six remarkable stories by Georges Eekhoud, Edmond Haraucourt, Jules Lermina, Jean-Marc Lofficier, Eugene Thibault et Gaston de Wailly., published between 1884 and 2012, that encapsulate the basic archetypes of the mad scientist: he is obsessed with his research; he develops innovative technologies at the cutting edge of his era’s knowledge, often out of sheer daring; he appears to be lacking in common sense; he likes to play God without realizing the consequences of his actions.

Most of the authors featured in this volume were privileged witnesses to prodigious scientific advances that were at the root of profound social transformations. The fears aroused by some of these, particularly in biology and chemistry, combined with the stubborn positivism of seeing science as the ultimate solution to all ills, crystallized into the figure of the mad scientist. The rich tradition of the French roman scientifique provides a striking illustration of the archetype inspired by the myths of Prometheus and Faust.