The Hampdenshire Wonder

by J. D. (John Davys) Beresford

"The Hampdenshire Wonder" by J. D. Beresford is a science fiction novel published in 1911. It follows Victor Stott, the son of a famous cricket player, who develops from infant into an almost preternaturally clever child prodigy. The boy's extraordinary intelligence comes with subtle physical deformities to accommodate his powerful brain. Set against the backdrop of an English village with an unpleasant local minister, the novel explores the unsettling emergence of superhuman abilities and influenced later works like Olaf Stapledon's "Odd John."