Hermsprong

First published in 1796, Robert Bage’s Hermsprong; or, Man as He Is Not stands among the boldest works of late eighteenth-century fiction. Satirical yet deeply humane, the novel subjects class, privilege, religion and the position of women to searching scrutiny at a moment when Britain was grappling with the aftermath of revolution abroad and unrest at home.

Through the figure of Hermsprong—raised partly in America and untouched by the rigid hierarchies of British society—Bage exposes the moral complacency and inherited authority of the English elite. At the centre of the novel stands Maria Fluart, one of the most striking heroines of her age: intelligent, independent and unwilling to accept submission as virtue.

Admired by Sir Walter Scott yet long neglected, Hermsprong remains a fearless defence of equality, sincerity and freedom of thought.

This P-Wave Classics edition restores the novel to its original three-volume format.

Volume I — Published May 2026

• The opening volume of the original. Includes the Biographical Introduction, Editorial Note and full Introduction, together with the opening part of the text. It introduces readers to Hermsprong, Maria Fluart and the social world they challenge..
• Paperback, 186 pp., £10.99 (ISBN 9781916937284)
• Ebook £4.49 (ISBN 9781916937307)

Volume II — Published August 2026

• The second volume of the original. The novel's exploration of power, freedom and moral authority deepens as the consequences of those challenges become increasingly difficult for the established order to ignore.
• Paperback, 164 pp., £10.99 (ISBN 9781916937369)
• Ebook £4.49 (ISBN 9781916937376)

Volume III — Forthcoming

• The concluding volume of the original, bringing the tensions to their resolution.

Our classics are produced as comfortable reading editions, with compact A-format paperbacks, readable type, standard paperback paper and, where appropriate, the original volume structure restored. They are designed to make classic literature feel fresh, accessible and a pleasure to read.

Find out how P-Wave Classics are published as books to be read today, not monuments to be endured.

Robert Bage (1728–1801) was an English novelist, paper manufacturer and thinker aligned with Enlightenment and radical ideas. Born in Derbyshire, he combined business with wide intellectual interests, moving in dissenting and reformist circles that included Erasmus Darwin and members of the Lunar Society. Between 1781 and 1796 he published six novels, culminating in his most celebrated work, Hermsprong; or, Man as He is Not. Noted for its satire of privilege and its proto-feminist heroine Maria Fluart, the novel challenged religious orthodoxy, social hierarchy and gender roles. Admired by contemporaries such as Sir Walter Scott, Bage’s fiction remains distinctive for its wit, candour and commitment to equality, even as his works have been neglected in modern times.

L. A. Davenport, born in Cork, Ireland, in 1973, is a novelist and short story writer whose works include The Nucleus of Reality, Escape, and No Way Home. A graduate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he brings extensive experience in medical journalism to his insightful and engaging fiction and non-fiction.

Learn more about L. A. Davenport and his writing at Pushing the Wave.