The Wonder

by Beresford, J. D.

• ISBN13: 9780803261624
• ISBN10: 0803261624
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

Nothing will ever mystify or challenge the Wonder. He masters entire libraries and languages with little effort. No equation, no problem is too difficult to solve. His casual conversations with ministers and philosophers decimate their vaunted beliefs and crush their cherished intellectual ambitions. The Wonder compels obedience and silence with a glance. His mother idolizes him as a god. Yet no one is more hated or alone than the Wonder. This is the chilling tale of Victor Stott, an English boy born thousands of years ahead of his time. Raised in the village of Hampdenshire, the strangely proportioned young Victor possesses mental abilities vastly superior to those of his fellow villagers. The incomprehensible intellect and powers of the Wonder inspire awe, provoke horror, and eventually threaten to rip apart Hampdenshire. Long recognized as a classic of speculative fiction but never before widely available,The Wonderis one of the first novels about a "superman." J. D. Beresford's subtle and intriguing story of a boy with superhuman abilities paved the way for such noted works as Philip Wylie'sGladiatorand A. E. van Vogt'sSlan.

Author Biography

J. D. Beresford (1873Ð1947), a noted British writer of speculative fiction, wrote such novels as “What Dreams May Come . . . ,” The Riddle of the Tower, and Goslings. Jack L. Chalker is the author of the classic novels Midnight at the Well of Souls and Web of the Chozen and the popular Rings of the Master and Dancing Gods series.

Table of Contents

PART I MY EARLY ASSOCIATIONS WITH GINGER STOTT
The Motive	3	(11)
Notes for a Biography of Ginger Stott	14	(38)
The Disillusionment of Ginger Stott	52	(13)
PART II THE CHILDHOOD OF THE WONDER
The Manner of His Birth	65	(21)
His Departure from Stoke-Underhill	86	(15)
His Father's Desertion	101	(12)
His Debt to Henry Challis	113	(26)
His First Visit to Challis Court	139	(12)
Interlude	145	(6)
PART II (continued) THE WONDER AMONG BOOKS
His Passage Through the Prison of Knowledge	151	(24)
His Pastors and Masters	175	(14)
His Examination	189	(24)
Fugitive	213	(6)
PART III MY ASSOCIATION WITH THE WONDER
How I Went to Pym to Write a Book	219	(11)
The Incipience of My Subjection to the Wonder	230	(21)
The Progress and Relaxation of My Subjection	251	(17)
Release	268	(15)
Implications	283	(6)
Epilogue: The Uses of Mystery	289