The First Men in the Moon

<p> <I>The First Men in the Moon</I> is the last in a series of scientific romances begun by Wells with <I>The Time Machine.</I> In the opinion of many it is also the last in a series of pessimistic and anti-utopian novels before Wells took up the tone of an optimistic and utopian social prophet with <I>Anticipations.</I> The present critical edition of <I>First Men</I> questions that opinion. The lunar utopia described is far from a satire on the industrial order as many critics claim but in historical context is instead related to the international scientific management movement stemming from the Saint-Simonian school of socialism. This critical edition shows how <I>First Men</I> consciously builds on the whole literary tradition of moon voyages.</p>