UTOPIAN AND ANTI-UTOPIAN LITERATURE

UTOPIAN AND ANTI-UTOPIAN LITERATURE

Introduction by Boyd White

Although Sir Thomas More coined the word utopia in the 16th century from Greek that translates literally as “no-place,” in common usage the term refers to an imagined ideal community constructed upon egalitarian principles of economics, government, and justice.  While its homophone eutopia, derived from Greek that means “good place,” is the correct term for a positive utopia, utopia and eutopia have been used interchangeably for decades.

More’s Utopia (1516), a fictional account of the religious, social, and political customs of an island society located in the South Atlantic, is not the earliest example of a proposal for an ideal community.  That distinction rests with Plato’s Republic (380 BC), a rigid class-structured society ruled by philosopher-kings whose wisdom has eliminated poverty and want through the equal distribution of all resources.  For every utopian ideal a political philosopher or satirist has imagined, however, a counter proposal has never been far behind.  The deification of logic and reason in Plato’s Republic reaches its horrific extreme in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726) when the narrator finds himself among the Houyhnhnms, a race of hyper-intelligent talking horses without emotion, who have degraded and enslaved human beings because humanity, from the Houyhnhnm point of view, lacks reason and cannot overcome its base nature.

Lloyd Currey’s Utopian and Anti-Utopian Literature explores the innumerable ways that authors throughout the centuries have imagined rebuilding and perfecting civilization, as well as their inevitable anxieties about how such attempts to save humanity may ultimately only end up destroying it.  As Lloyd’s catalog illustrates, from the rustic matriarchal households of W. H. Hudson’s A Crystal Age (1887) to the interstellar mixture of socialism and anarchy in Ian M. Banks’ Matter (2008), utopias and dystopias have taken many forms.

While the classics of the literature are certainly well represented—Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward 2000-1887 (1888), Thea von Harbou’s Metropolis (1926), Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932), and Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange (1962)—the most fascinating books Lloyd has gathered include some of the earliest and least known examples of the genre, unclassifiable works that combine elements of lost race fiction, interplanetary romance, occult fiction, and high fantasy.  Simon Berington’s The Memoirs of Sigr. Gaudentio di Lucca: Taken from His Confession and Examination before the Fathers of the Inquisition at Bologna in Italy (1737), recounts di Lucca’s life as a successful artist in the kingdom of Mezzoraim in Northern Africa among isolated descendents of the ancient Egyptians whose culture is defined by a natural religion that channels all ambition for material gain into a desire to benefit the nation as a whole.  James Reynolds’ Equality; A History of Lithconia (1837), one of the earliest American utopian novels, describes an island society that “denounces private property and requires no assistance from the divine, placing its faith in bureaucracy to impose order, technology to reduce drudgery, and omnipresent gardens to instill virtue.”  Neither of these titles, however, compares with the screwball eccentricity of Austyn W. Granville’s The Fallen Race (1892) in which the lone survivors of the doomed Frisbee Expedition into the Great Australian Desert find themselves in the land of the Anonos, the descendants of female aborigines and a particularly randy troop of kangaroos, or John O. Greene’s The Ke Whonkus People (1893) in which an arctic utopia executes its religious heretics by sacrificing them to vampire dragons who drain their blood in underground caverns.

Perhaps the most remarkable work in Utopian and Anti-Utopian Literature is Shirby T. Hodge’s The White Man’s Burden: A Satirical Forecast (1915).  Written by Roger Sherman Tracy, a noted graduate of Yale University and an associate of the New York Board of Health, this remarkable book is narrated by an unnamed white man from 20th-century New Hampshire who is mysteriously transported to West Africa in 5027 AD.  The narrator encounters a remarkable utopia inhabited by African-Americans who relocated after achieving economic superiority in North America and eventually defeating the white race in a devastating war.  Characterized by technological marvels such as air cars, interplanetary travel, and disintegration rays, the society the narrator explores is essentially anarchist with no laws, private property, money, or prisons, each person working at whatever he or she chooses to do.  A ground-breaking work decades ahead of its time socially and politically, The White Man’s Burden: A Satirical Forecast is a work ripe for rediscovery by scholars and enthusiasts.

Of course, not every author has embraced the progressive economic and social reforms that have characterized such ideal societies.  For many early writers, the concept of an idealized socialist utopia is inextricably linked to the enslavement of the individual and the erasure of all creativity or desire.  Frank Cowan’s Revi-Lona: A Romance of Love in a Marvelous Land (1879) satirizes numerous tropes of 19th-century utopian fiction in its depiction of a super-scientific matriarchy destroyed, as the author says, by a “big and brawny man, with many of the vices of his sex and years.”  Likewise, Walter Besant’s The Inner House (1888) imagines the eradication of aging through medicine and the institution of a socialist state not as unleashing humanity’s unlimited potential but instead as breeding out all individuality, desire, and creativity.  While The Inner House is often read as a literary precursor to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948), Besant’s novella, unlike Orwell’s masterpiece, is steeped in anxieties about the progressive social movements of its time and is best understood as the kind of anti-utopian work that gets taken to its logical extreme in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (1957) and its rejection of governmental controls for unrestrained capitalism and individual achievement.

Lloyd rounds out Utopian and Anti-Utopian Literature with an excellent selection of key contributions by modern and contemporary speculative fiction writers, including Zenna Henderson’s Pilgrimage: The Book of the People (1961), Keith Roberts’ Pavane (1968), Suzy McKee Charnas’ Motherlines (1978), Alasdair Gray’s Lanark: A Life in Four Books (1985), Elizabeth Hand’s Glimmering (1997), and Charles Stross’ Glasshouse (2007).

Economic.  Ecological.  Feminist.  Religious.  Single-gender.  Single-sex.  Scientific.  Technological.

Looking for the perfect world?  Here’s a good place to begin.

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216.

THE TORCH.

Philadelphia: Prime Press, 1948. Octavo, pp. [1-11] 12-229 [230-232: blank] [note: first and last leaves are blanks], original red cloth, spine panel stamped in gold. First edition. (#65372)
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219.

THE DAY THAT CHANGED THE WORLD by The Man Who Was Warned [pseudonym].

London, New York, Toronto: Hodder and Stoughton, n.d. [1912]. Octavo, pp. [i-v] vi-vii [viii] [1] 2-289 [290: printer's imprint] [291-292: blank] [note: last leaf is a blank], original decorated red cloth, front panel stamped in white and gold, spine panel stamped in gold, bottom edge untrimmed. First edition. (#77496)
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220.
MR. OSEBA'S LAST DISCOVERY. Ge Bell, W

MR. OSEBA'S LAST DISCOVERY.

Wellington, N.Z. The New Zealand Times Co., Ltd., Printers and Publishers, 1904. Octavo, pp. [i-v] vi [vii] viii [1] 2-225 [226: printer's imprint] [227-228: blank] [note: last leaf is a blank], 29 inserted plates, original pictorial red cloth, front panel stamped in gold and ruled in blind, spine panel stamped in black, rear panel ruled in blind. First edition. (#109605)
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221.
THE BLINDMAN'S WORLD AND OTHER STORIES ... With a Prefatory Sketch by W. D. Howells. Edward Bellamy

THE BLINDMAN'S WORLD AND OTHER STORIES ... With a Prefatory Sketch by W. D. Howells.

Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1898. Octavo, pp. [1-2] [i-v] vi-xiii [xiv-xvi] [1] 2-415 [416: printer's imprint], fly leaves at front and rear, original green cloth, front and spine panels stamped in gold, t.e.g., fore and bottom edges rough-trimmed. First edition. (#89772)
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222.
THE BLINDMAN'S WORLD AND OTHER STORIES ... With a Prefatory Sketch by W. D. Howells. Edward Bellamy

THE BLINDMAN'S WORLD AND OTHER STORIES ... With a Prefatory Sketch by W. D. Howells.

Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1898. Octavo, pp. [1-2] [i-v] vi-xiii [xiv-xvi] [1] 2-415 [416: printer's imprint], fly leaves at front and rear, original green cloth, front and spine panels stamped in gold, t.e.g., fore and bottom edges rough-trimmed. First edition. (#138489)
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223.
EQUALITY. Edward Bellamy

EQUALITY.

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1897. Octavo, pp. [i-ii] iii-viii 1-412 [413-420: ads], fly leaves at front and rear, original decorated blue-gray cloth, front and spine panels stamped in sliver and black. First edition. (#8912)
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224.

EQUALITY.

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1897. Octavo, pp. [i-ii] iii-viii 1-412 [413-420: ads], fly leaves at front and rear, original decorated blue-gray cloth, front and spine panels stamped in sliver and black. First edition. (#131330)
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225.
EQUALITY. Edward Bellamy

EQUALITY.

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1897. Octavo, pp. [i-ii] iii-viii 1-412 [413-420: ads], fly leaves at front and rear, original decorated blue-gray cloth, front and spine panels stamped in sliver and black. First edition. (#136810)
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239.
A WORLD OF WOMEN. Beresford

A WORLD OF WOMEN.

New York: The Macaulay Company, 1913. Octavo, pp. [1-8] 1-306 [307-309: ads] [310-312: blank] [note: last leaf is a blank], original decorated maroon cloth, stamped in gold. First U.S. edition. (#143314)
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241.
THE ADVENTURES OF SIGR. GAUDENTIO DI LUCCA. BEING THE SUBSTANCE OF HIS EXAMINATION BEFORE THE...

THE ADVENTURES OF SIGR. GAUDENTIO DI LUCCA. BEING THE SUBSTANCE OF HIS EXAMINATION BEFORE THE FATHERS OF THE INQUISITION AT BOLOGNA IN ITALY; GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF AN UNKNOWN COUNTRY IN THE MIDST OF THE DESERTS OF AFRICA, THE ORIGINE AND ANTIQUITY OF THE PEOPLE, THEIR RELIGION, CUSTOMS, POLITY, AND LAWS. COPIED FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT IN ST. MARK'S LIBRARY, AT VENICE. WITH CRITICAL NOTES OF THE LEARNED SIGNOR RHEDI, SOMETIME KEEPER OF THE SAID LIBRARY. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, A LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INQUISITION, SHEWING THE REASONS OF SIGNOR GAUDENTIO'S BEING APPREHENDED, AND THE MANNER OF IT. The Second Edition. Faithfully Translated from the Italian.

London: Printed for W. Innys in Pater-noster Row, and R. Manby and H. S. Cox on Ludgate-Hill, and sold by M. Cooper in Pater-noster Row, 1748. Octavo, pp. [i-iii] iv-xii 1-291 [292: blank], early nineteenth-century three-quarter leather and marbled boards, light brown coated endpapers, t.e.g., fore and bottom edges rough trimmed. Second edition. (#90114)
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242.
THE MEMOIRS OF SIGR. GAUDENTIO DI LUCCA: TAKEN FROM HIS CONFESSION AND EXAMINATION BEFORE THE...

THE MEMOIRS OF SIGR. GAUDENTIO DI LUCCA: TAKEN FROM HIS CONFESSION AND EXAMINATION BEFORE THE FATHERS OF THE INQUISITION AT BOLOGNA IN ITALY. MAKING A DISCOVERY OF AN UNKNOWN COUNTRY IN THE MIDST OF THE VAST DESERTS OF AFRICA, AS ANCIENT, POPULOUS, AND CIVILIZED, AS THE CHINESE. WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR ANTIQUITY, ORGINE, RELIGION, CUSTOMS, POLITY, &C. AND THE MANNER HOW THEY GOT FIRST OVER THOSE VAST DESERTS. INTERSPERS'D WITH SEVERAL MOST SURPRIZING AND CURIOUS INCIDENTS. COPIED FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT IN ST. MARK'S LIBRARY, AT VENICE: WITH CRITICAL NOTES OF THE LEARNED SIGNOR RHEDI, LATE LIBRARY-KEEPER OF THE SAID LIBRARY. TO WHICH IS PREFIX'D, A LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INQUISITION, TO THE SAME SIGNOR RHEDI, GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF THE MANNER AND CAUSES OF HIS BEING SEIZED. Faithfully Translated from the Italian, by E. T. Gent.

London: Printed for T. Cooper, at the Globe in Pater-noster Row, 1737. Octavo, pp. [i-iii] iv-xiii [xiv-xvi] 1-335 [336: blank]; collates a4; b4; B-I8; K-U8; X-Y8, bound by Cecil & Larkins in fine imitation eighteenth-century full calf with richly tooled spine panel with five raised bands and red and green morocco lettering pieces, gilt rules on front and rear panels, gauffered edges, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges stained yellow. First edition. (#130651)
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249.
THE TWENTY-FIFTH HOUR. Herbert Best

THE TWENTY-FIFTH HOUR.

New York: Random House, [1940]. Octavo, pp. [1-10] [1-2] 3-321 [322-326: blank] [note: first and last two leaves are blanks], title page printed in tan and black, original pictorial red cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black and gold, top edge stained black. First edition. (#90123)
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250.
THE TWENTY-FIFTH HOUR. Herbert Best

THE TWENTY-FIFTH HOUR.

New York: Random House, [1940]. Octavo, pp. [1-10] [1-2] 3-321 [322-326: blank] [note: first and last two leaves are blanks], title page printed in tan and black, original pictorial red cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black and gold, top edge stained black. First edition. (#127553)
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255.
BEN-BEOR. A STORY OF THE ANTI-MESSIAH. IN TWO DIVISIONS. PART I. - LUNAR INTAGLIOS. THE MAN IN...

BEN-BEOR. A STORY OF THE ANTI-MESSIAH. IN TWO DIVISIONS. PART I. - LUNAR INTAGLIOS. THE MAN IN THE MOON, A COUNTERPART OF WALLACE'S "BEN HUR." PART II. - HISTORICAL PHANTASMAGORIA. THE WANDERING GENTILE, A COMPANION ROMANCE TO SUE'S "WANDERING JEW."

Baltimore: Press of Isaac Friedenwald Co., 1891. Octavo, pp. [1-4] [i-v] vi [vii] viii-ix [x] [1-2] 3-528 [note: first two leaves are blanks], flyleaf at rear, original maroon cloth, front and spine panels stamped in gold and blind, rear panel stamped in blind, slate coated endpapers. First edition. (#74704)
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257.
THE ADVENTURES OF ABDALLA, SON OF HANIF, SENT BY THE SULTAN OF THE INDIES, TO MAKE A DISCOVERY OF...

THE ADVENTURES OF ABDALLA, SON OF HANIF, SENT BY THE SULTAN OF THE INDIES, TO MAKE A DISCOVERY OF THE ISLAND OF BORICO, WHERE THE FOUNTAIN WHICH RESTORES PAST YOUTH IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOUND. ALSO AN ACCOUNT OF THE TRAVELS OF ROUSCHEN, A PERSIAN LADY, TO THE TOPSY-TURVY ISLAND, UNDISCOVERED TO THIS DAY. THE WHOLE INTERMIX'D WITH SEVERAL CURIOUS AND INSTRUCTIVE HISTORIES. Translated into French from an Arabick Manuscript Found at Batavia by Mr. de Sandisson: And Now Done into English by William Hatchett, Gent. Adorn'd with Cuts.

London: Printed for Tho. Worrall at the Judge's-Head over against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet-street, 1729. Octavo, pp. [1-6] [i] ii-vi [i-ii] iii-xvi [xvii-xviii] [1] 2-169 [170-176: ads] [note: page ii of the second sequence of roman pagination misnumbered 158], eight inserted engraved plates, recent full brown paneled calf period style by Phil Dusel, red morocco spine label, gilt rules and lettering. First edition in English. (#136072)
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258.
IN HUNDERT JAHREN. REICH ILLUSTRIERTER ROMAN. Friedrich Eduard Bilz

IN HUNDERT JAHREN. REICH ILLUSTRIERTER ROMAN.

Leipzig und Dresden-Radebeul: F. E. Bilz, 1907. Octavo, pp. [1-2] 1-1130 [1131-1132] [1133-1134: ads], 30 inserted plates, about half of which are full-color chromolithographs, 188 illustrations, some full page, in the text, original gray cloth stamped in black, pictorial paper onlays affixed to front and rear panels. First edition. (#132568)
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260.
LOOKING FORWARD: A DREAM OF THE UNITED STATES OF THE AMERICAS IN 1999. Arthur Bird

LOOKING FORWARD: A DREAM OF THE UNITED STATES OF THE AMERICAS IN 1999.

[Utica, New York: Press of L. C. Childs & Son, 1899.]. 12mo, pp. [1-3] 4-234 [235-240: blank] [note: last three leaves are blanks], nine inserted plates (including map frontispiece), original decorated tan cloth, front panel stamped in brown, spine panel stamped in gold, tan endpapers with floral pattern printed in green. First edition. (#138606)
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265.
CATACOMB YEARS. Michael Bishop

CATACOMB YEARS.

New York: Published by Berkley Publishing Corporation Distributed by G. P. Putnam's Sons, [1979]. Octavo, mustard wrappers printed in black. Advance copy (uncorrected proof) of the first edition. (#152918)
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288.
A NEW DAY DAWNS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ALTRUISTIC ERA (1930 TO 2162 A.D.) A.E. 200 ... A...

A NEW DAY DAWNS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ALTRUISTIC ERA (1930 TO 2162 A.D.) A.E. 200 ... A DIAGNOSIS AND A POSSIBLE PROGNOSIS OF THE ILLS OF OUR PRESENT SOCIAL ORDER.

Youngstown, Ohio: Medical Success Press, 1932. Octavo, pp. [1-6] 7-191 [192: blank], original maroon cloth, front panel stamped in blind, spine panel stamped in gold, top edge stained red, other edges untrimmed. First edition. (#148153)
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