In 1818 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley took the next major step in the evolution of science fiction when she published Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. Champions of Shelley as the “mother of science fiction” emphasize her innovative fictional scheme. Abandoning the occult folderol of the conventional Gothic novel, she made her protagonist a practicing “scientist”—though the term scientist was not actually coined until 1834—and gave him an interest in galvanic electricity and vivisection, two of the advanced technologies of the early 1800s. Even though reanimated corpses remain fantastic today, Shelley gave her story an air of scientific plausibility. This masterly manipulation of her readers established a powerful new approach to creating thrilling sensations of wonder and fear. Frankenstein has remained in print since its first publication, and it has been adapted for film repeatedly since the first silent version in 1910. Frankenstein’s monster likewise remained a potent metaphor at the turn of the 21st century, when opponents of genetically engineered food coined the term Frankenfood to express their concern over the unknown effects of the human manipulation of foodstuffs.
Another significant 19th-century forerunner was Edgar Allan Poe, who wrote many works loosely classifiable as science fiction. The Balloon Hoax of 1844, originally published in the New York Sun, is but one example of Poe’s ability to provide meticulous technical descriptions intended to mislead and impress the gullible.
An economic depression is characterized by an aggravated state of recession, that is, a long period of mass unemployment, bankruptcy of companies, low levels of production and investments, etc., always leading to negative consequences for a country's economy.
Based on this, we can conclude that the best for a science fiction story written by a British author in 1898 is economic depression. By that time, England began to lose its power over other countries. This loss of power has led to a decrease in the country's economic power. For this reason, the author could draw inspiration from this weakening economy and write about a society that was facing economic depression.
