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A review by joecam79
The Dreaming Sex: Early Tales of Scientific Imagination by Women by L.T. Meade, Adeline Knapp, Muriel A. Pollexfen, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Alice W. Fuller, Greye La Spina, Clare Winger Harris, E. Nesbit, Mike Ashley, Harriet Prescott Spofford, Clotilde Graves, Mary Shelley, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, G.M. Barrows
3.0
*** 1/2
The subtitle to this book - "Early tales of scientific imagination by women" - is a pretty good description of this anthology, which brings together 11 proto-scifi short stories by female authors of the 19th and early 20th century.
Is such a gender-based collection still needed in our day and age? Frankly, yes, and there are some very good reasons for this. First of all, in the early days of speculative fiction, women writers were at forefront of the genre, going beyond the frontiers of reality whether through supernatural tales or more "scientifically oriented" stories. This notwithstanding, there is still, sadly, a widespread mistaken impression that speculative fiction in general and sci-fi in particular are a male realm. This anthology comes as a welcome corrective.
Moreover, some of the featured stories have a decidedly proto-feminist theme which fits in well with the rationale behind the choices (in this regard, "The Sultana 's Dream" by Roquia Sakhawat Hossein, with its imagining of a Muslim female-led society, is nothing short of visionary).
Mike Ashley ferrets out some intriguing rarities alongside works by better-known authors such as Braddon and Mary Shelley, and provides a brief introduction which puts each story in context.
The literary quality varies and, on the basis of the featured stories, I wouldn't place, say, L.T.Meade or G.M. Barrows in the same league as Edith Nesbit. However, what is certainly consistent throughout the collection is the vividness of imagination of all authors concerned, whether they are writing about other galaxies, the distant future, marvellous discoveries or chilling experiments.
The subtitle to this book - "Early tales of scientific imagination by women" - is a pretty good description of this anthology, which brings together 11 proto-scifi short stories by female authors of the 19th and early 20th century.
Is such a gender-based collection still needed in our day and age? Frankly, yes, and there are some very good reasons for this. First of all, in the early days of speculative fiction, women writers were at forefront of the genre, going beyond the frontiers of reality whether through supernatural tales or more "scientifically oriented" stories. This notwithstanding, there is still, sadly, a widespread mistaken impression that speculative fiction in general and sci-fi in particular are a male realm. This anthology comes as a welcome corrective.
Moreover, some of the featured stories have a decidedly proto-feminist theme which fits in well with the rationale behind the choices (in this regard, "The Sultana 's Dream" by Roquia Sakhawat Hossein, with its imagining of a Muslim female-led society, is nothing short of visionary).
Mike Ashley ferrets out some intriguing rarities alongside works by better-known authors such as Braddon and Mary Shelley, and provides a brief introduction which puts each story in context.
The literary quality varies and, on the basis of the featured stories, I wouldn't place, say, L.T.Meade or G.M. Barrows in the same league as Edith Nesbit. However, what is certainly consistent throughout the collection is the vividness of imagination of all authors concerned, whether they are writing about other galaxies, the distant future, marvellous discoveries or chilling experiments.