Ana Oancea’s first book, Dangerous Creations (University of Toronto Press, July 2025), investigates a previously unidentified genre of 19th-century French literature – the inventor novel – where science fiction, naturalism and decadence intersect.

Dangerous Creations presents a master narrative of the inventor in fin-de-siècle French literature by analyzing the works of Jules Verne, Albert Robida, Émile Zola and Villiers de l’Isle-Adam. Their writings challenge the role of science in shaping French national identity and aim to transform contemporary understandings of science and technology.

The book reveals how Verne, Robida, Zola and de l’Isle-Adam reimagine the figure of the inventor, reshaping the literary standards of their time. Universally male in these narratives, the inventor serves as a flawed exemplar of national heroism during the Age of Empire – a period marked by significant external threats and internal strife – while also embodying unrestrained creativity. Ultimately, the inventor novel reflects broader French anxieties surrounding scientific progress, empire and gender.

Oancea, associate professor of French, explores the transmedia and transnational legacy of the fin-de-siècle inventor novel through vignettes that highlight similarly themed narratives in contemporary popular culture. These sections engage with films, television series, graphic narratives and video games that reinterpret key aspects of the inventor narrative, shedding light on its power structures, racial and gender politics and colonial aspirations.