Samuel Butler

Erewhon and Erewhon Revisited - Dover Thrift Editions Samuel Butler

Marc Notes: 'Erewhon', set in a thinly disguised New Zealand, ended with the escape of its protagonist from the native Erewhonists by balloon. In the sequel, narrated by his son John, Higgs returns to Erewhon and meets his former lover Yram, who is now the mother of his son George. Biographical Note: In addition to his Utopian satire" Erewhon, " Samuel Butler (1835 1902) remains best known for his semi-autobiographical novel, "The Way of All Flesh." His other works comprise studies of Italian art, literary history and criticism, and prose translations of the "Illiad" and "Odyssey" that remain in use to this day."Brief Description: "In Erewhon, an anagram for "nowhere," sickness is a punishable crime, criminals receive compassionate medical treatment, and machines are banned, lest they evolve and take over. Originally published in 1872, this proto-steampunk novel offers entertaining, provocative satires of the family, church, and mechanical progress. The Dover edition includes the sequel, Erewhon Revisited"--Publisher Marketing: In Erewhon, an anagram for "nowhere," sickness is a punishable crime, criminals receive compassionate medical treatment, and machines are banned, lest they evolve and take over. Originally published in 1872, the proto-steampunk novel "Erewhon" won its author immediate recognition as a satirist. Samuel""Butler followed in the tradition of Voltaire and Swift in creating "Erewhon "and" Erewhon Revisited, "which are widely recognized as the nineteenth century's most important works of their kind. Entertaining and provocative, these books are unsparing in their treatment of the hypocrisies of Victorian society, taking aim at the family, church, and mechanical "progress." George Orwell, no stranger to the depiction of futuristic societies, noted that at the time of "Erewhon"'s writing the author needed "imagination of a very high order to see that machinery could be dangerous as well as useful." Today's readers will also find the book remarkably prescient in its anticipation of future sociological trends. Contributor Bio:  Butler, Samuel Samuel Butler (4 December 1835 - 18 June 1902) was an iconoclastic Victorian-era English author who published a variety of works. Homer is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey.