Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon

Backlisted

Backlisted Podcast

Arts, Books, Leisure, Hobbies

4.7 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2025

⏱️ 80 minutes

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Summary

Writer and critic Matthew De Abaitua joins Andy, Una and Nicky to discuss Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future (1930), the astounding first novel by Olaf Stapledon. The book is one of the founding texts of science fiction, a fact that has both assured its reputation and arguably restricted its readership, a conundrum we discuss during the show; certainly, few novels are so vast in scope or present the reader with such leaps of the imagination. Whatever you think you know about genre tropes, futurology and how best to tell a story, prepare to have your preconceptions shot out of the pod bay doors, pal. Comparisons between Last and First Men and 2001: A Space Odyssey are justifiable, not least because Kubrick's film was adapted from a story by Arthur C. Clarke, an author who said of Stapledon's novel, "no other book had a greater influence on my life". Why isn't such a 'corking good writer' (C.S. Lewis), feted in his time by Jorge Luis Borges, Virginia Woolf and Winston Churchill, more widely known today? And would it be correct to identify Olaf Stapledon, who projected his consciousness across the universe from his back garden on the Wirral, as the original Cosmic Scouser? Listen to find out. *Stapledon's archive is held at the Science Fiction Hub at Liverpool University - some of which you can view here. *For £150 off any Serious Readers HD Light and free UK delivery use the discount code: BACK at seriousreaders.com/backlisted * To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent bookshops. * For information about everything mentioned in this episode visit www.backlisted.fm *If you'd like to support the show and join in with the book chat, listen without adverts, receive the show early and get extra bonus fortnightly episodes and original writing, become a patron at www.patreon.com/backlisted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of Backlisted is supported by Serious Readers.
0:03.4	Which is fitting because that's what we are.
0:06.0	I find my eyes get tired in the evenings and it's easier to read during daylight.
0:10.0	And a Serious Reader's HD Essential Light gives you the full spectrum of daylight.
0:14.8	Suddenly, every word is sharp, the contrast is better and the strain just goes.
0:20.0	Which means I can read longer and moan less.
0:22.7	And that's good for everyone.
0:24.5	Backlisted listeners get £150 off the HD Essential plus free UK delivery with the code back at Seriousreaders.com forward slash back.
0:36.1	And you've got 30 days to try it at home risk free. That's seriousreaders.com forward slash back. And you've got 30 days to try it at home risk free.
0:39.1	That's seriousreaders.com forward slash back and use the code BACK.
0:44.4	And now on with the show. Hello and welcome to Backlisted, the podcast which gives new life to old books.
1:08.1	The novel featured on today's show is Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon,
1:14.0	first published in 1930 by Matthewan and Co in the UK,
1:18.5	and the following year by Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith in the US.
1:23.9	I'm Andy Miller, author of the Year of Reading Dangerously,
1:26.9	and Inventry, an unreliable guide to my record collection. I'm Andy Miller, author of The Year of Reading Dangerously, and Inventry, an unreliable guide to my record collection.
1:30.9	I'm Dr. Una McCormack, award-winning author of Scientific Romances, an Associate Fellow of Homerton College, Cambridge.
1:39.2	Scientific Romances? You've changed. I like that.
1:43.4	We try and change it a little bit every time now.
1:45.8	But that's good. So it's not speculative fiction now. What's happened, do? Have you got a good romance coming?
1:50.9	No. See, science. Ah, well, we'll expand upon this.
1:55.3	I love a planetary meat cute. I love that. I'm Nikki Birch, the producer and editor of Backlisted.
	...

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