The Hopkins Manuscript, R.C. Sherrif

The Hopkins Manuscript is a social-political dystopian novel written by R. C. Sherriff in 1939. We picked this up at Persephone Books who republished the novel in part as a comment on the phenomenon of global warming, and it’s easy to see why. The story tells of a country watching a catastrophe happen in slow motion, documenting what they do, and more importantly don’t do, to prepare for its consequences.

Science fiction of a human nature, the story takes place London and is told by retired schoolmaster Edgar Hopkins as he tells of a lunar catastrophe in which the moon collides with the Earth, writing his narrative on the unfolding events and reactions throughout society.

R.C. Sherriff (1896-1975) was born in Hampton Wick, Middlesex. A playwright and screenwriter, remembered for his Journey’s End (1928), a critically acclaimed World War I play.