TWO THOUSAND YEARS HENCE. London: Chapman and Hall, Piccadilly, n.d. [1868]. Octavo, pp. [i-vii] viii [9] 10-351[352: blank], inserted frontispiece and title page with drawings by J. Gilbert, publisher's bevel-edged blue cloth, front and rear panels stamped in blind, spine panel stamped in gold, chocolate coated endpapers. First edition. A presentation copy with signed inscription by O'Neil to "Mrs. Creswick" on the half title page. A very early British catastrophe novel. "Picture of nineteenth century Britain from the point of view of a future in which Britain has been destroyed by a volcanic eruption and climatic changes. There is a world state centered in the Antipodes with one religion and English is the only language. Antidemocratic" (Sargent). "In 3867, when Britain is depopulated and colder, its New Zealander governor writes a history of its 19th century. Description by sectors, against reforms of 1832 and 1867" (Suvin). Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 5. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 169. Negley 867. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, Additions. Suvin, Victorian Science Fiction in the UK, p. 14. Reginald 10995. Not in Bleiler (1948; 1978) or Lewis. Cloth worn at spine ends and corners, spotted and soiled, hairline crack along inner front hinge which is still holding tight, a good copy. (#175342).
Price: $750.00
No statement of printing.