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The genre of prehistoric fiction contains a surprisingly large and diverse group of fictional works by American, British, and French writers from the late nineteenth century to the present that describe prehistoric humans.

Nicholas Ruddick explains why prehistoric fiction could not come into being until after the acceptance of Charles Darwin's theories, and argues that many early prehistoric fiction works are still worth reading even though the science upon which they are based is now outdated.

Exploring the history and evolution of the genre, Ruddick shows how prehistoric fiction can offer fascinating insights into the possible origins of human nature, sexuality, racial distinctions, language, religion, and art.

The book includes discussions of well-known prehistoric fiction by H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, J. H. Rosny Aîné, Jack London, William Golding, Arthur C. Clarke, and Jean M. Auel and reminds us of some unjustly forgotten landmarks of prehistoric fiction. It also briefly covers such topics as the recent boom in prehistoric romance, notable prehistoric fiction for children and young adults, and the most entertaining movies featuring prehistoric humans.

The book includes illustrations that trace the changing popular images of cave men and women over the past 150 years.

Contents:

Preface
Acknowledgments
Notes on References
Introduction: The Fiction of Hominization
GENERIC EVOLUTION
From Boitard's Paris before Man to London's Before Adam
From Rosny's First Artist to del Rey's Last Neanderthal
From Fisher's "Testament of Man" to Auel's "Earth's Children"
THEMATIC EVOLUTION
Nature and Human Nature
Sex and Gender
Race or the Human Race
A Cultural Triad: Language, Religion, Art
Coda: Baxter's Evolution and Post-Hominization
A Prehistoric Chronology
Notes
Works Cited
Illustration Credits
Index

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