Edward Bellamy
Description
Edward Bellamy (; March 26, 1850 – May 22, 1898) was an American author, journalist, and political activist most famous for his utopian novel Looking Backward. Bellamy's vision of a harmonious future world inspired the formation of numerous "Nationalist Clubs" dedicated to the propagation of state ownership of the main pillars of the economy, achieved through nationalization. After working as a journalist and writing several novels, Bellamy published Looking Backward in 1888. It was the third best-selling novel of the 19th century in the United States, and it especially appealed to a generation of intellectuals alienated by the perceived dark side of the Gilded Age. In the early 1890s, Bellamy established a newspaper known as The New Nation and began to promote united action between the various Nationalist Clubs and the emerging Populist Party.
Books
Looking Backward from 2000 to 1887
The "great American utopian novel" often compared to The Iron Heel (Jack London), The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood), The Dispossessed (Ursula K. LeGuin). Looking Backward created a political movement (Nationalism) and inspired clubs for the discussion of its ideas, the establishment of utopian communities and the publication of many other utopian novels.
Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century
Introduction: The First Century of Science Fiction - essay by Isaac Asimov The Sandman - novelette by E. T. A. Hoffmann (trans. of Der Sandmann 1816) The Mortal Immortal - short story by Mary Shelley A Descent Into the Maelstrom - short story by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of A Descent Into the Maelström) Rappaccini's Daughter - novelette by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Clock That Went Backwards - short story by Edward Page Mitchell Into the Sun - short story by Robert Duncan Milne A Tale of Negative Gravity - novelette by Frank R. Stockton The Horla, or Modern Ghosts - novelette by Guy de Maupassant (trans. of Le Horla 1887) The Shapes - novelette by J. H. Rosny aîné (trans. of Les Xipéhuz) To Whom This May Come - short story by Edward Bellamy The Great Keinplatz Experiment - short story by Arthur Conan Doyle In the Abyss - short story by H. G. Wells The Thames Valley Catastrophe - short story by Grant Allen The Lizard - short story by C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne A Thousand Deaths - short story by Jack London