Inspired by Frankenstein, this early work of science fiction has a futuristic setting of 2126 and its "monster," an intelligent mummy, serves as a friend and counselor to mankind.
Set in 2126, The Mummy!: A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century explores a society led by advanced technology but driven by ego, greed and self-preservation. It’s a vivid clash of genres featuring an old tale with a new twist. In the distant future, society has become enthralled by technology. It’s an integral part of life that has changed the way humans interact. Autonomous machines have a visible presence, taking critical jobs in the workforce. Doctors and lawyers have been replaced by steam-powered devices, as well as farmers who no longer plant or plow. The author presents an early form of the internet that can connect anyone at any time. With all these advancements, mankind has become detached and corrupt. It’s up to Cheops, a reanimated corpse, to make a way in this questionable age. Jane Loudon was a young visionary writer who was ahead of her time. Her version of The Mummy features a speculative world that eerily embodies twenty-first century society. It’s a brilliant work that exposes humanity at its core. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Mummy!: A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century is both modern and readable.
Frankenstein wasn't the only classic horror novel created by a woman. Within a decade of the 1818 publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, another Englishwoman invented a foundational work of science fiction. Seventeen-year-old Jane Webb Loudon took up the theme of reanimation, moved it three hundred years into the future, and applied it to Cheops, an ancient Egyptian mummy. Unlike Shelley's horrifying, death-dealing monster, this revivified creature bears the wisdom of the ages and is eager to share his insights with humanity. Cheops boards a hot-air balloon and travels to 22nd-century England, where he sets about remedying the ills of a corrupt government. In recounting Cheops' attempts to put the futuristic society to rights, the young author offers a fascinating portrait of the preoccupations of her own era as well as some remarkably prescient predictions of technological advances. The Mummy! envisions a world in which automatons perform surgery, undersea tunnels connect England and Ireland, weather-control devices provide crop irrigation, and messages are transmitted with the speed of cannonball fire. The first novel to feature the concept of a living mummy, this pioneering tale offers an engaging mix of comedy, politics, and science fiction. Other books in the Haunted Library of Horror Classics series: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux The Beetle by Richard Marsh Vathek by William Beckford The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson The Parasite and Other Tales of Terror by Arthur Conan Doyle Of One Blood by Pauline Hopkins The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.