Scan barcode
A review by maplessence
The Heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens
3.0
3.5★
This was certainly different!
& I have sat in front of my laptop for quite a while now, trying to think of what else to write!
Yes, we may have seen this done better but this was a very early dystopian novel & Francis Stevens (real name Gertrude Barrows Bennett) was a fresh & vital voice, writing in a genre that in those days had very few women authors- in fact Stevens was one of the first.
Stevens bio on Goodreads gives the sparse details that are known of her life - I would certainly like to know why her writing career was so short, why she (effectively) abandoned her daughter (not too surprisingly they became estranged) &, above all what happened to Stevens later in life. She was originally believed to have died in 1939 (the last time her daughter had contact from her) but a death certificate was found - & that says 1948. More googling is required.
So I enjoyed Viola, Terry & Roberts travelling into the future. Stevens created a very vivid fantasy world in Ulithia & a 2118 Philadelphia. Stevens shone with dialogue - hot tempered Terry in particular just jumped off the page.
I would be happy to read more of Stevens work, but dystopia & longer science fiction aren't really my genre & I won't be in a rush.
A biography of the enigmatic Stevens - well that is another matter!
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshessonovel.wordpress.com
This was certainly different!
& I have sat in front of my laptop for quite a while now, trying to think of what else to write!
Yes, we may have seen this done better but this was a very early dystopian novel & Francis Stevens (real name Gertrude Barrows Bennett) was a fresh & vital voice, writing in a genre that in those days had very few women authors- in fact Stevens was one of the first.
Stevens bio on Goodreads gives the sparse details that are known of her life - I would certainly like to know why her writing career was so short, why she (effectively) abandoned her daughter (not too surprisingly they became estranged) &, above all what happened to Stevens later in life. She was originally believed to have died in 1939 (the last time her daughter had contact from her) but a death certificate was found - & that says 1948. More googling is required.
So I enjoyed Viola, Terry & Roberts travelling into the future. Stevens created a very vivid fantasy world in Ulithia & a 2118 Philadelphia. Stevens shone with dialogue - hot tempered Terry in particular just jumped off the page.
I would be happy to read more of Stevens work, but dystopia & longer science fiction aren't really my genre & I won't be in a rush.
A biography of the enigmatic Stevens - well that is another matter!
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshessonovel.wordpress.com