This book examines how Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, H. G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau, and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World represent groundbreaking milestones in British apocalyptic literature, urging readers to recognize their lasting significance and influence. It illustrates how developments in science and technology from 1818 to 1932 bring humanity closer to a fictional apocalypse. Using this idea as a starting point, this book discusses how the hubris inherent in individuals pursuing scientific and technological advancements in the name of perfection is a mere pretext under which the true power dynamics are hidden, ultimately leading to an inescapable apocalypse. In these novels, the potential for apocalypse is revealed through the ‘mad scientist’ trope, which is closely tied to advancements in science and technology. It is this trope that accelerates the impending apocalypse through uncontrollable scientific experiments or a deep yearning for absolute power, both of which are what totalitarian ideologies require. In either case, at the core of these concerns lies one central idea that this book emphasises— the renunciation of humanity’s security and peace in exchange for much power by the powerful.

Magical realism is an appropriate genre for the authors dealing with problematic themes such as memory because it is practical for those seeking for answers to these problematic questions that cannot be solved with empirical attitudes. In The Buried Giant, Ishiguro handles the chaotic nature of memory creating a primitive version of Britain where people’s memories are covered by a magical mist. This spell has an effect not only on individuals such as Axl and Beatrice, but also on the two ethnic groups, the Saxons and the Britons, making them forget the former enmity between them. In this regard, referring to the theoretical background of magical realism, this book aims to analyse the magical realist elements of the novel that enables Ishiguro to discuss the effects of memory loss on individuals and societies.