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

"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. (Jacketless library hardcover.)

About the Author
Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George: - "Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (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.""Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George: - "Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (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."