The Mysterious Doctor Cornelius 1: The Sculptor of Human Flesh

by Brian M. Stableford (Adapted by), Gustave Le Rouge

The modern literary archetype of the mad scientist was wonderfully incarnated in the French proto-science fiction saga of The Mysterious Dr. Cornelius, a sprawling novel serialized in eighteen volumes in 1912-13, written by the prolific Gustave Le Rouge, author of The Vampires of Mars and The Dominion of the World. Dr. Cornelius Kramm and his brother, Fritz, rule an international criminal empire called the Red Hand. Cornelius is a brilliant surgeon, nicknamed the "Sculptor of Human Flesh" because of his diabolical ability to alter people's likenesses through the science of carnoplasty. One of Cornelius' agents is the sadistic sociopath Baruch Jorgell, the son of millionaire Fred Jorgell. Cornelius uses his surgical prowess to change Baruch's face, making him unrecognizable. But the Red Hand's growing, global, evil web eventually causes the creation of an alliance of heroes, who band together to fight it: Dr. Prosper Bondonnat, a brilliant French biologist and botanist; American billionaire William Dorgan and his son, Harry, who is in love Baruch's kind-hearted sister, Isadora; and finally, Lord Burydan, a colorful, freebooting adventurer. Gustave Le Rouge (1867-1938) was one of the authors who most embodied the evolution of modern science fiction, moving it away from its juvenile beginnings by incorporating real emotions into his stories, bridging the gap between Vernian and Wellsian science fiction.

300 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2014

About the author

Brian Michael Stableford was a British science fiction writer who published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford. He also used the pseudonym Brian Craig for a couple of very early works, and again for a few more recent works. The pseudonym derives from the first names of himself and of a school friend from the 1960s, Craig A. Mackintosh, with whom he jointly published some very early work.