A classic work of science fiction, this novel was one of the first to explore the world of the atom. The Girl in the Golden Atom is the story of a young chemist who finds a hidden atomic world within his mother’s wedding ring. Under a microscope, he sees within the ring a beautiful young woman sitting before a cave. Enchanted by her, he shrinks himself so that he can join her world.

 

Having worked for Thomas Alva Edison, Ray Cummings (1887–1957) was inspired by science’s possibilities and began to write science fiction. The Girl in the Golden Atom was enormously successful at its publication in 1923, and Cummings went on to write an equally successful sequel, The People of the Golden Atom. Both volumes are featured in this Bison Books edition, along with a new introduction by Jack Williamson.

Ray Cummings was a prolific writer of many classic works and a founding figure of the science-fiction pulp genre. Jack Williamson is the author of numerous classics of science fiction, including The Humanoids, Darker than You Think, and Terraforming Earth. He has been inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.