Seeing the Unseen: Responses to Fitz-James O'Brien's 'What Was It? a Mystery'

Fitz-James O'Brien's "Enigma", the progenitor of all invisible monsters, has thrilled readers for a century and a half and inspired several generations of science fiction and horror writers. A masterpiece of mystery, this strange text leaves the reader as perplexed as its befuddled narrator. Is it the exciting account of triumph over evil it purports to be? Or is there more to this than meets the eye? Could it be a subtle attack on slavery in America? Or a defence of the powerless and disenfranchised? Are we dealing with a creature from another planet, a monster of the id, or the hallucinations of an opium addict? And who are the real monsters? This book is the result of a lively conference and exhibition that united artists, designers, writers, researchers, teachers, and students in an exploration of the multiple meanings of O'Brien's most disturbing tale. Included are the full text of 'What Was It?', a new French translation by Agnès Fourtané, a suite of new poems by Mosotho poet Rethabile Masilo, the last published work of the late science fiction writer Feargus G. MacIntyre, and provocative essays by Cécile Chartier, Alexandra Tauvry, Dr Kristine Hoyt Jouanne, and Dr Mathew D. Staunton.