Vril, the Power of the Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Science Fiction

Bulwer-Lytton is legend nowadays for the qualities of his prose: but we find his prose attractive, in its languid way; and certainly the man was a profound thinker. "Vril" is a mysterious energy used by Lytton's subterranean race -- refugees from the deluge that submerged Atlantis -- to power their advanced civilization. Generations of occultists have mistaken this bit of business for something other than fiction; and still more generations of science fiction writers have recycled the novel's plot. Vril is a book of strong interest to anyone doing a scholarly study of the evolution of SF; it's also a novel well worth reading in its own right.

About the Author
Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George: - "Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (1803 - 1873), was an English novelist, poet, playwright and politician. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling novels which earned him a considerable fortune. He coined the phrases "the great unwashed," "pursuit of the almighty dollar," "the pen is mightier than the sword," "dweller on the threshold," and the well-known opening line "It was a dark and stormy night." --Wikipedia"Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George: - "Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (1803 - 1873), was an English novelist, poet, playwright and politician. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling novels which earned him a considerable fortune. He coined the phrases the great unwashed, pursuit of the almighty dollar, the pen is mightier than the sword, dweller on the threshold, and the well-known opening line It was a dark and stormy night. --Wikipedia"