William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) – known as Olaf Stapledon – was a British philosopher and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

.Andy Sawyer, " illiamOlaf Stapledon (1886-1950)", in Bould, Mark, et al, eds. ''Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction''. New York: Routledge, 2010. (pp. 205–210) .John Kinnaird, "Stapledon,(William) Olaf" in Curtis C. Smith, ''

Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers ''Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers'' is a book by Curtis C. Smith published in October 1981 on science fiction authors in the 20th century. It is the third in the St. Martin's Press's ''Twentieth-Century Writers of the English Language'' ...

''. Chicago, St. James, 1986. (pp. 693–6). In 2014, he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Life

Stapledon was born in Seacombe,

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...

, on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire, the only son of William Clibbett Stapledon and Emmeline Miller. The first six years of his life were spent with his parents at

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of ...

, Egypt. He was educated at

Abbotsholme School Abbotsholme School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school. The school is situated on a 140-acre campus on the banks of the River Dove in Derbyshire, England near the county border and the village of Rocester in Staffordshire. ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

, where he acquired a BA degree in Modern History (Second Class) in 1909, promoted to an MA degree in 1913. After a brief stint as a teacher at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a free grammar school next to Manchester Parish Church, it moved in 1931 to its present site at ...

he worked in shipping offices in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

from 1910 to 1912. From 1912 to 1915 Stapledon worked with the Liverpool branch of the

Workers' Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

he served as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to obje ...

. Stapledon became an ambulance driver with the

Friends' Ambulance Unit The Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU) was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by individual members of the British Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), in line with their Peace Testimony. The FAU operated from 1914–1919, 1939–1946 and ...

in France and Belgium from July 1915 to January 1919; he was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

for bravery.Vincent Geoghegan,"Olaf Stapledon:Religious but not a Christian" in Socialism and religion : roads to common wealth''.London: Routledge, 2011. (pp. 85–108). His wartime experiences influenced his pacifist beliefs and advocacy of a World Government. On 16 July 1919 he married Agnes Zena Miller (1894–1984), an Australian cousin. They had first met in 1903, and later maintained a correspondence throughout the war. They had a daughter, Mary Sydney Stapledon (1920–2008), and a son, John David Stapledon (1923–2014). In 1920 they moved to

West Kirby West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, to the north-east lies Hoylake, to the east Grange ...

. Stapledon was awarded a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

degree in philosophy from the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

in 1925 and used his doctoral thesis as the basis for his first published prose book, ''A Modern Theory of Ethics'' (1929). However, he soon turned to fiction in the hope of presenting his ideas to a wider public. The relative success of '' Last and First Men'' (1930) prompted him to become a full-time writer. He wrote a sequel, ''

Last Men in London ''Last Men in London'' (1932) is a science fiction novel by British writer Olaf Stapledon. The narrator is the same member of the eighteenth and final human species who purportedly induced Stapledon to write ''Last and First Men''. ''Last Men ...

'', and followed it up with many more books of both fiction and philosophy. For the duration of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Stapledon abandoned his pacifism and supported the war effort. In 1940 the Stapledon family built and moved into a new house on Simon's Field, in

Caldy Caldy is a small, affluent village on the Wirral Peninsula, England, south-east of West Kirby. It is part of the West Kirby & Thurstaston Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and is in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. At ...

, in Wirral. During the war Stapledon became a public advocate of J.B. Priestley and Richard Acland's left-wing Common Wealth Party, as well as the British internationalist group

Federal Union A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

. After 1945 Stapledon travelled widely on lecture tours, visiting the Netherlands, Sweden and France, and in 1948 he spoke at the World Congress of Intellectuals for Peace in

Wrocław Wrocław (; , . german: Breslau, , also known by other names) is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, roughly ...

, Poland. He attended the Conference for World Peace held in New York City in 1949, the only Briton to be granted a visa to do so. In 1950 he became involved with the anti-apartheid movement. After a week of lectures in Paris, he cancelled a projected trip to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

and returned to his home in Caldy, where he died very suddenly of a heart attack. Stapledon was cremated at Landican Crematorium. His widow and their children scattered his ashes on the sandy cliffs overlooking the Dee Estuary, a favourite spot of his that features in more than one of his books. Stapledon Wood, on the south-east side of Caldy Hill, is named after him.

Works

Stapledon's fiction often presents the strivings of some intelligence that is beaten down by an indifferent universe and its inhabitants who, through no fault of their own, fail to comprehend its lofty yearnings. It is filled with protagonists who are tormented by the conflict between their "higher" and "lower" impulses. Stapledon's writings directly influenced

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for ...

Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirica ...

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ar ...

, John Gloag,

Naomi Mitchison Naomi Mary Margaret Mitchison, Baroness Mitchison (; 1 November 1897 – 11 January 1999) was a Scottish novelist and poet. Often called a doyenne of Scottish literature, she wrote over 90 books of historical and science fiction, travel writin ...

, C. S. Lewis,

Vernor Vinge Vernor Steffen Vinge (; born October 2, 1944) is an American science fiction author and retired professor. He taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. He is the first wide-scale popularizer of the technological singu ...

John Maynard Smith John Maynard Smith (6 January 1920 – 19 April 2004) was a British theoretical and mathematical evolutionary biologist and geneticist. Originally an aeronautical engineer during the Second World War, he took a second degree in genetics ...

and indirectly influenced many others, contributing many ideas to the world of science fiction. The "supermind" composed of many individual consciousnesses forms a recurring theme in his work. '' Star Maker'' contains the first known description of what are now called Dyson spheres.

Freeman Dyson Freeman John Dyson (15 December 1923 – 28 February 2020) was an English-American theoretical physicist and mathematician known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum m ...

credits the novel with giving him the idea, even stating in an interview that "Stapledon sphere" would be a more appropriate name. '' Last and First Men'' features early descriptions of

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including ...

and

terraforming Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to mak ...

. ''

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CMa ...

'' describes a dog whose intelligence is increased to the level of a human being's. Some commentators have called Stapledon a Marxist, although Stapledon distanced himself from the label. Stapledon's work also refers to then-contemporary intellectual fashions (e.g. the belief in

extrasensory perception Extrasensory perception or ESP, also called sixth sense, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke Univers ...

). ''Last and First Men'', a "future history" of 18 successive species of humanity, and ''Star Maker'', an outline history of the Universe, were highly acclaimed by figures as diverse as

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

, J. B. Priestley,

Algernon Blackwood Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary cri ...

Hugh Walpole Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, CBE (13 March 18841 June 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among those who encouraged him were the authors Hen ...

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born ...

(Stapledon maintained a correspondence with Woolf) and Winston Churchill. Benford,Gregory, "Foreword" in ''Last and First Men''. London, Millennium, 1999. pp. ix–xi. In contrast, Stapledon's philosophy repelled C. S. Lewis, whose '' Cosmic Trilogy'' was written partly in response to what Lewis saw as amorality, although Lewis admired Stapledon's inventiveness and described him as "a corking good writer". In fact Stapledon was an

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficie ...

who was hostile to religious institutions, but not to religious yearnings, a fact that set him at odds with H. G. Wells in their correspondence. Together with his philosophy lectureship at the University of Liverpool, which now houses the Olaf Stapledon archive, Stapledon lectured in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

industrial history The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. He wrote many non-fiction books on political and ethical subjects, in which he advocated the growth of "spiritual values", which he defined as those values expressive of a yearning for greater awareness of the self in a larger context ("personality-in-community"). Stapledon himself named his spiritual values as intelligence, love and creative action. His philosophy was strongly influenced by

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

. Stapledon is considered one of forerunners of the contemporary transhumanist movement.

Film rights

Film producer and director

George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen afte ...

bought the rights to '' Odd John'' and in 1966 '' Castle of Frankenstein'' magazine reported that

David McCallum David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCall ...

would play the title role. In 2017 a multimedia work adaption of '' Last and First Men'' by Oscar-nominated Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson was released, featuring narration from

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

and a live score performed by the BBC Philharmonic. In 2019 a short film adaption of Stapledon's story "A Modern Magician" was written by, produced by and starred Justin McDonald and

Kate Hodgson Kate Hodgson (born 30 August 1985) is an English actress and photographer. Early life Kate Hodgson was born in Birkenhead, Merseyside in North West England. In 2006, she graduated from Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts with a degree in ac ...

. The film, which was directed by Mark Heller, also featured the voice of Brian Cox and marked the first ever live action adaptation of any of Stapledon's literary works.

Bibliography

Fiction

*'' Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future'' (1930) () *''

'' (1932) () *'' Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest'' (1935) () *'' Star Maker'' (1937) () First Edition cover by

Bip Pares Ethel "Bip" Pares (27 February 1904 – January 1977) was an Art Deco illustrator, who designed at least 600 book covers, created iconic posters for London Transport and wrote and illustrated an account of her honeymoon in the Himalayas. Her cove ...

*''

Darkness and the Light ''Darkness and the Light'' (1942) is a science fiction novel by British writer Olaf Stapledon. In this work written in 1941, during World War II, Stapledon projects two separate futures for humanity, depending not on the outcome of that par ...

'' (1942) () *''

Old Man in New World "Old Man in New World" is a short story by British writer Olaf Stapledon, published as a separate volume by George Allen and Unwin in 1944. It was published through PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usual ...

'' (short story, 1944) *''

: A Fantasy of Love and Discord'' (1944) () *'' Death into Life'' (1946) *'' The Flames: A Fantasy'' (1947) *''A Man Divided'' (1950) () *''

Four Encounters ''Four Encounters'' is an unfinished work by the writer and philosopher Olaf Stapledon, written in the late 1940s but only published by Bran's Head Books in 1976, 26 years after the author's death. This edition contained an introduction by Brian A ...

'' (1976) () *''

Nebula Maker ''Nebula Maker'' is a science fiction novel by Olaf Stapledon and published posthumously by Bran's Head Books in 1976. It was probably around 1932-33, while Stapledon would have also worked on another novel, ''Odd John''. It was a first draft ...

'' (drafts of ''Star Maker'', 1976) () * ''East is West'' (posthumous, 1979)

Non-fiction

*''A Modern Theory of Ethics: A study of the Relations of Ethics and Psychology'' (1929) *''Waking World'' (1934) *'' Saints and Revolutionaries'' (1939) *''New Hope for Britain'' (1939) *''Philosophy and Living'', 2 volumes (1939) *''Beyond the "Isms"'' (1942) *''Seven Pillars of Peace'' (1944) *''Youth and Tomorrow'' (1946) *''Interplanetary Man?'' (1948) *''The Opening of the Eyes'' (ed. Agnes Z. Stapledon, 1954)

Poetry

*''Latter-Day Psalms'' (1914)

Collections

*'' Worlds of Wonder: Three Tales of Fantasy'' (1949) *''To the End of Time: the Best of Olaf Stapledon'' (ed. Basil Davenport, 1953) () *''Far Future Calling: Uncollected Science Fiction and Fantasies of Olaf Stapledon'' (ed.

Sam Moskowitz Sam Moskowitz (June 30, 1920 – April 15, 1997) was an American writer, critic, and historian of science fiction. Biography As a child, Moskowitz greatly enjoyed reading science fiction pulp magazines. As a teenager, he organized a branch of ...

1979 ) *''An Olaf Stapledon Reader'' (ed.

Robert Crossley The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, h ...

, 1997)

References

External links

*
Olaf Stapledon Archive
at the

SF Hub
Works at Project Gutenberg Australia
*
Olaf Stapledon
at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame * (including 1 "from old catalog" as William Olaf)
Digitized works by Olaf Stapledon
at

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pub ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stapledon, Olaf 1886 births 1950 deaths 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English philosophers 20th-century English poets Academics of the University of Liverpool Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Liverpool British ethicists English agnostics English anti-war activists English conscientious objectors English male novelists English male poets English male short story writers English short story writers English pacifists English science fiction writers English socialists Lost Generation writers Moral philosophers People associated with the Friends' Ambulance Unit People educated at Abbotsholme School People from Wallasey Philosophers of ethics and morality Philosophers of history Philosophers of mind Philosophers of science Philosophers of technology Philosophical cosmologists Philosophy writers Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees British transhumanists 20th-century English male writers