New Flood

Noëlle Roger (1874-1953) was born and died in Geneva, Switzerland. She apprenticed as a journalist in London. Then, in 1900, she married the anthropologist Eugène Pittard. During World War I, she trained as a nurse and looked after wounded soldiers. Throughout her life, she wrote numerous books and essays, including some ground-breaking speculative fiction published between 1922 and 1949. The visionary nature of these stories places them among the finest works of such greats as H.G. Wells, J.-H. Rosny and Maurice Renard. In the name of conscience, Roger shows us how scientific progress, by violating nature's immutable laws, may crush spirituality and modern man.

Roger was a three-time recipient of the Académie Française Award, in 1925, 1935 and 1948. Black Coat Press is proud to release her speculative fiction in a four-volume collection, of which this is the first.

In The New Flood (1922), a Parisian family is forced to flee their holiday spot in haste as floodwaters suddenly rise. Within a few days, water engulfs much of Europe. Pursued by the raging torrents, they take refuge in a valley alongside a handful of survivors and shepherds. Together, they must relearn communal living and the skills essential for survival. Some bravely set out in search of other survivors, only to be met with hostility by another group holed up in a mountain hotel...

Published in 1949, The Edge of the Unseen collects fifteen short stories and is Roger's final work of speculative fiction. In it, she depicts a variety of strange phenomena, some involving light, energy, and electricity, others the powers of the mind. The author does not disparage scientific progress but warns of its dangers: should these techno-scientific advances fall into the hands of those driven by a lust for power and profit, serious crimes will ensue...