"The Island of Doctor Moreau" is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick, a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat who is left on the island home of Doctor Moreau, who creates human-like hybrid beings from animals via vivisection. The novel deals with a number of philosophical themes, including pain and cruelty, moral responsibility, human identity, and human interference with nature. Wells described the novel as "an exercise in youthful blasphemy." "The Island of Doctor Moreau" is a classic of early science fiction and remains one of Wells's best-known books, and has been adapted to film and other media on many occasions.