Looking Backward: 2000-1887

by Edward Bellamy, Walter James Miller (Introduction), Eliot Fintushel (Afterword)

Overview

Originally published in 1888, this prophetic work revolves around Julian West, a man who falls asleep near the end of the 19th century and wakes up in the year 2000. More than a brilliant visionary's view of the future, it is a guidebook that has stimulated some of the greatest thinkers of the modern age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101213018
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/16/1982
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	738,451
File size:	476 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Edward Bellamy (1850-1898) was admitted to the bar in 1871, but that same year he abandoned his practice to become associate editor of the Springfield Union (Massachusetts). Later, he worked as an editorial writer for the New York Evening Post. Bellamy’s heart was no more in newspaper work than it had been in the law. His main interest lay in the field of literature. He wrote several short stories and three novels, including Dr. Heidenhoff’s Process (1880), before he married Emma Sanderson in 1882. Forced by ill health to give up his editorial career, Bellamy devoted himself to writing. His novel Miss Ludington’s Sister was published in 1884. The young author’s intense awareness of injustices in the economic and social systems, as well as his desire for reforms, impelled him to write Looking Backward in 1888. “Bellamy Clubs” sprang up across the nation and the novelist embarked on a series of lecture tours and speaking engagements. In 1891, he founded the New Nation, a Boston newspaper, as an organ for his views, but increasing illness forced him to suspend publication. He continued, however, to work on the sequel to Looking Backward. It was published under the title Equality in 1897.
 
Walter James Miller—poet, playwright, critic, translator—has authored, co-authored, or edited 64 books, scores of scholarly articles, and hundreds of television and radio programs. Professor of English at New York University, he has won a writing fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts/ Ruttenberg Foundation.
 
Eliot Fintushel writes novels and short stories in and around the genre of science fiction and is a contributing editor to Tricycle magazine. Away from the word processor, he is also a busker and a traveling showman, a two-time winner of the National Endowment's Fellowship for Solo Performance Artists.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Cecilia Tichi
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Text
LOOKING BACKWARD

Editorial Reviews

First published in 1888, Bellamy's utopian novel concerns a 19th century Bostonian who awakes from a sleep to find himself in the year 2000 in a world of near-perfect cooperation and prosperity. Historian Daniel Borus adds a 28-page introduction, a chronology of Bellamy's life, a selected bibliography, and questions to consider when reading the novel. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

There is no better book than Looking Backward for understanding the intersecting private and public spheres in Victorian America. This is easily the best edition on the market, thanks to the fine introduction that puts Bellamy in the sweep of utopian writing, the nice selection of contemporary responses, and the excerpts from Bellamy’s ‘Religion of Solidarity’ and Equality.” — Richard Fox, University of Southern California

“This edition is set apart from all other editions by Alex MacDonald’s excellent introduction and annotations and an excellent selection of related texts.” — Lyman Tower Sargent, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Editor of Utopian Studies

“This edition is extremely welcome. The introduction is clear and accessible, and both situates the text historically and stresses its continuing relevance. Above all, the additional texts provide supporting material that makes this edition a truly invaluable resource.” — Ruth Levitas, University of Bristol

From the Publisher

"This edition is extremely welcome. The introduction is clear and accessible, and both situates the text historically and stresses its continuing relevance. Above all, the additional texts provide supporting material that makes this edition a truly invaluable resource."

Ruth Levitas University of Bristol

"This edition is set apart from all other editions by Alex MacDonald's excellent introduction and annotations and an excellent selection of related texts."

Lyman Tower Sargent

"There is no better book than Looking Backward for understanding the intersecting private and public spheres in Victorian America. This is easily the best edition on the market, thanks to the fine introduction that puts Bellamy in the sweep of utopian writing, the nice selection of contemporary responses, and the excerpts from Bellamy's 'Religion of Solidarity' and Equality."

Richard Fox University of Southern California