''Professor Dowell's Head'' () is a 1925

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and horror story (and later novel) by Russian author Alexander Belyaev. The story follows the work of a doctor who has secretly revived his old boss's head, who now guides him through new experiments.

Plot

Professor Dowell and his assistant surgeon Dr. Kern are working on medical problems including life support in separated body parts. Dr. Kern kills Dowell (in a set up car /

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

accident). Professor Dowell's head is now kept alive and used by Dr. Kern for extraction of scientific secrets; however, his new assistant, the medically trained Marie Loren, discovers the ploy and is dismayed; to keep her from exposing him, Kern eventually gets her imprisoned in a false lunatic asylum for undesirables. Continuing his experiments, Dr. Kern transplants the head of a young woman to a new body. That body belongs to the girlfriend of a friend of Dowell's son, who recognizes her body when the young woman flees Dr. Kern's laboratory. Together, Dowell's son and his friend free Marie Loren. Dr. Kern is anxious to announce himself as the inventor. But Dowell's son and Marie Loren help his father's head get in front of the cameras and reveal the truth. The head of professor Dowell tells all before dying. Dr. Kern, disgraced, is summarily executed by a police detective.

Background

The story was initially published in ''The Worker’s Gazette'', a Moscow daily publication. from 16 June to 6 July 1925.

Legacy and reception

The book was positively reviewed in the ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' in 1980, with the reviewer describing it as "an extraordinary tale" and comparing it to

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

and the works of

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...

. David Kirby complimented Antonina W. Bouis's translation as "fluid" and praised the novel as "lively and readable". He interpreted the novel as an

allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...

for the Soviet revolution, with Dowell being comparable to its leaders, who could not predict "the horrible ends to which his activities would lead". ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' commentator Nick B. Williams said Belyaev continued the "Poe-esque" tradition into "the realm of modern pseudo-science" commenting, "if squeamish, skip it. If not, read and revel." Less than three months after the story was released, similar experiments were performed by surgeon Sergei Brukhonenko. In the Soviet press, Brukhonenko's experiments were often compared to the story. The novel was adapted into several films. * The novel was very loosely adapted to film under the title '' Professor Dowell's Testament'' (1984) by director . The film only used the basic premise of the novel and made numerous changes to the characters and story. * ' ( zh, 凶宅美人头}), a Chinese film adaptation, was made by the Xi'an Film Studio in 1989.

English translations

* *

References

External links

Illustrations of Ukrainian graphic artist Alexander Dovhal to Professor Dowell`s Head
{{DEFAULTSORT:Professor Dowell's Head 1925 debut novels 1925 Russian novels 1925 science fiction novels 1920s horror novels Debut science fiction novels Debut horror novels Russian science fiction novels Soviet science fiction novels Science fiction horror novels Novels by Alexander Belyaev Novels about human experimentation Fiction about resurrection Russian novels adapted into films Science fiction novels adapted into films Horror novels adapted into films