Utopias and Dystopias in the Fiction of H. G. Wells and William Morris

Utopias and Dystopias in the Fiction of H. G. Wells and William Morris

Author: Emelyne Godfrey

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-12-08

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1137523409

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This book is about the fiercely contrasting visions of two of the nineteenth century’s greatest utopian writers. A wide-ranging, interdisciplinary study, it emphasizes that space is a key factor in utopian fiction, often a barometer of mankind’s successful relationship with nature, or an indicator of danger. Emerging and critically acclaimed scholars consider the legacy of two great utopian writers, exploring their use of space and time in the creation of sites in which contemporary social concerns are investigated and reordered. A variety of locations is featured, including Morris’s quasi-fourteenth century London, the lush and corrupted island, a routed and massacred English countryside, the high-rises of the future and the vertiginous landscape of another Earth beyond the stars.


Book Synopsis Utopias and Dystopias in the Fiction of H. G. Wells and William Morris by : Emelyne Godfrey

Download or read book Utopias and Dystopias in the Fiction of H. G. Wells and William Morris written by Emelyne Godfrey and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-12-08 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about the fiercely contrasting visions of two of the nineteenth century’s greatest utopian writers. A wide-ranging, interdisciplinary study, it emphasizes that space is a key factor in utopian fiction, often a barometer of mankind’s successful relationship with nature, or an indicator of danger. Emerging and critically acclaimed scholars consider the legacy of two great utopian writers, exploring their use of space and time in the creation of sites in which contemporary social concerns are investigated and reordered. A variety of locations is featured, including Morris’s quasi-fourteenth century London, the lush and corrupted island, a routed and massacred English countryside, the high-rises of the future and the vertiginous landscape of another Earth beyond the stars.


Modern Utopian Fictions from H. G. Wells to Iris Murdoch

Modern Utopian Fictions from H. G. Wells to Iris Murdoch

Author: Peter Edgerly Firchow

Publisher: CUA Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 9780813215730

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Criticism on utopian subjects has generally neglected the literary or fictional dimension of utopia. The reason for such neglect may be that earlier utopian fictions tended to be written by what one would nowadays call social scientists, e.g., Plato or Sir Thomas More. That is also why earlier discussions of utopian fiction were usually written by critics trained in the social sciences rather than by critics trained in literature. To an appreciable degree this still tends to be the case today. Now, however, there is an additional difficulty, for the social scientists are critiquing utopias written by people who are primarily literary, for example, Krishan Kumar on Wells or Bernard Crick on Orwell. Inevitably much of importance--of literary importance--is simply disregarded, and so our understanding of modern utopia is correspondingly diminished. This book aims to put the fiction back into utopian fictions. While tracing the development of fiction in the writing of modern utopias, especially in Britain, it seeks to demonstrate in specific ways how those utopias have become increasingly literary--possibly as a reaction not only against the "social scientification" of modern utopias but also in reaction against the modern attempt to institute "utopia" in reality, notably in the former Soviet Union but also in consumerist, late-twentieth-century America. After an introductory discussion of how we understand--and how we should understand--modern utopian fictions, the book provides several examples of how those understandings affect our appreciation of utopian fiction. There are chapters on H. G. Wells's Time Machine; Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara; Aldous Huxley's Brave New World; George Orwell's Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four; William Golding's Lord of the Flies; and Iris Murdoch's The Bell. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Peter Edgerly Firchow, internationally recognized scholar and author of numerous works including Reluctant Modernists, W. H. Auden: Contexts for Poetry, Envisioning Africa: Racism and Imperialism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," and The End of Utopia, is professor of English at the University of Minnesota. "Firchow includes much that is praiseworthy in this short book on utopian fiction. . . . Firchow's work displays his very well informed explication and his ability, in most instances, to make literary texts come alive. His treatment of Wells's The Time Machine is simply outstanding. . . . I find his enthusiasm for his texts refreshing and his work on the end of history meticulous. Other scholars of utopian fiction will as well." -- H-Net Reviews "Utopian fiction has often been mangled in interpretation on the occasions when it has been read without a sense of irony, for the sake of political analysis, disregarding its artistic nature. To counterpoise such approaches, Firchow offers us a close reading of each of the chosen works, while also placing them in literary context," -- Janice Rossen, Partial Answers


Book Synopsis Modern Utopian Fictions from H. G. Wells to Iris Murdoch by : Peter Edgerly Firchow

Download or read book Modern Utopian Fictions from H. G. Wells to Iris Murdoch written by Peter Edgerly Firchow and published by CUA Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Criticism on utopian subjects has generally neglected the literary or fictional dimension of utopia. The reason for such neglect may be that earlier utopian fictions tended to be written by what one would nowadays call social scientists, e.g., Plato or Sir Thomas More. That is also why earlier discussions of utopian fiction were usually written by critics trained in the social sciences rather than by critics trained in literature. To an appreciable degree this still tends to be the case today. Now, however, there is an additional difficulty, for the social scientists are critiquing utopias written by people who are primarily literary, for example, Krishan Kumar on Wells or Bernard Crick on Orwell. Inevitably much of importance--of literary importance--is simply disregarded, and so our understanding of modern utopia is correspondingly diminished. This book aims to put the fiction back into utopian fictions. While tracing the development of fiction in the writing of modern utopias, especially in Britain, it seeks to demonstrate in specific ways how those utopias have become increasingly literary--possibly as a reaction not only against the "social scientification" of modern utopias but also in reaction against the modern attempt to institute "utopia" in reality, notably in the former Soviet Union but also in consumerist, late-twentieth-century America. After an introductory discussion of how we understand--and how we should understand--modern utopian fictions, the book provides several examples of how those understandings affect our appreciation of utopian fiction. There are chapters on H. G. Wells's Time Machine; Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara; Aldous Huxley's Brave New World; George Orwell's Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four; William Golding's Lord of the Flies; and Iris Murdoch's The Bell. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Peter Edgerly Firchow, internationally recognized scholar and author of numerous works including Reluctant Modernists, W. H. Auden: Contexts for Poetry, Envisioning Africa: Racism and Imperialism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," and The End of Utopia, is professor of English at the University of Minnesota. "Firchow includes much that is praiseworthy in this short book on utopian fiction. . . . Firchow's work displays his very well informed explication and his ability, in most instances, to make literary texts come alive. His treatment of Wells's The Time Machine is simply outstanding. . . . I find his enthusiasm for his texts refreshing and his work on the end of history meticulous. Other scholars of utopian fiction will as well." -- H-Net Reviews "Utopian fiction has often been mangled in interpretation on the occasions when it has been read without a sense of irony, for the sake of political analysis, disregarding its artistic nature. To counterpoise such approaches, Firchow offers us a close reading of each of the chosen works, while also placing them in literary context," -- Janice Rossen, Partial Answers


A Modern Utopia

A Modern Utopia

Author: H. G. Wells

Publisher: e-artnow

Published: 2017-12-06

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 8027235553

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A Modern Utopia is presented as a tale told by a sketchily described character known only as the Owner of the Voice. This character "is not to be taken as the Voice of the ostensible author who fathers these pages," Wells warns. He is accompanied by another character known as "the botanist." Interspersed in the narrative are discursive remarks on various matters, creating what Wells called in his preface "a sort of shot-silk texture between philosophical discussion on the one hand and imaginative narrative on the other." Because of the complexity and sophistication of its narrative structure, H.G. Wells's A Modern Utopia has been called "not so much a modern as a postmodern utopia." The novel is best known for its notion that a voluntary order of nobility known as the Samurai could effectively rule a "kinetic and not static" world state so as to solve "the problem of combining progress with political stability." Herbert George Wells (1866–1946), known as H. G. Wells, was a prolific English writer in many genres, including the novel, history, politics, and social commentary, and textbooks and rules for war games.


Book Synopsis A Modern Utopia by : H. G. Wells

Download or read book A Modern Utopia written by H. G. Wells and published by e-artnow. This book was released on 2017-12-06 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Modern Utopia is presented as a tale told by a sketchily described character known only as the Owner of the Voice. This character "is not to be taken as the Voice of the ostensible author who fathers these pages," Wells warns. He is accompanied by another character known as "the botanist." Interspersed in the narrative are discursive remarks on various matters, creating what Wells called in his preface "a sort of shot-silk texture between philosophical discussion on the one hand and imaginative narrative on the other." Because of the complexity and sophistication of its narrative structure, H.G. Wells's A Modern Utopia has been called "not so much a modern as a postmodern utopia." The novel is best known for its notion that a voluntary order of nobility known as the Samurai could effectively rule a "kinetic and not static" world state so as to solve "the problem of combining progress with political stability." Herbert George Wells (1866–1946), known as H. G. Wells, was a prolific English writer in many genres, including the novel, history, politics, and social commentary, and textbooks and rules for war games.


Victorian Visions of Suburban Utopia

Victorian Visions of Suburban Utopia

Author: Nathaniel Robert Walker

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2020-11-26

Total Pages: 577

ISBN-13: 0198861443

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A study of British and American Utopian writing of the 1800s in the context of developments in real architectural, political, and cultural life. The book studies utopian visions published in the UK and the USA in the 1800s by writers such Robert Owen, James Silk Buckingham, Edward Bellamy, and William Morris.


Book Synopsis Victorian Visions of Suburban Utopia by : Nathaniel Robert Walker

Download or read book Victorian Visions of Suburban Utopia written by Nathaniel Robert Walker and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-11-26 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study of British and American Utopian writing of the 1800s in the context of developments in real architectural, political, and cultural life. The book studies utopian visions published in the UK and the USA in the 1800s by writers such Robert Owen, James Silk Buckingham, Edward Bellamy, and William Morris.


The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds

Author: H. G. Wells

Publisher:

Published: 2017-02-25

Total Pages: 122

ISBN-13: 9781544122496

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Though highly debated as to whether War of the Worlds is a true dystopian novel, several scholars agree that this classic science fiction novel by Wells makes the cut for the genre based upon its presentation of a worst-case scenario for a less than idyllic society. In the story Wells draws upon a common fear of that modern-day society. It was known at the time as the fin de si�cle or the 'end of the age' that anticipated an apocalypse at that the dawn of the new century. In fact in 1938 Orson Welles caused a nationwide panic with his broadcast of "War of the Worlds" - a realistic radio dramatization of Well's Martian invasion of Earth.Dystopian Classic Editions publishes works of dystopian and utopian literature that have survived through the generations and been recognized as classics. A dystopian society is an imagined society in which the people are oppressed, however the government propagandizes the society as being a utopia or a perfect society. Typical themes in dystopian literature include public mistrust, police states, and overall unpleasantness for the citizens. Authors of dystopian works strive to present a worst-case scenario and negative depiction of the way things are in the story so as to make a criticism about a current situation in society and to call for a change. Each Dystopian Classic Edition selected for publication presents such a story.


Book Synopsis The War of the Worlds by : H. G. Wells

Download or read book The War of the Worlds written by H. G. Wells and published by . This book was released on 2017-02-25 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though highly debated as to whether War of the Worlds is a true dystopian novel, several scholars agree that this classic science fiction novel by Wells makes the cut for the genre based upon its presentation of a worst-case scenario for a less than idyllic society. In the story Wells draws upon a common fear of that modern-day society. It was known at the time as the fin de si�cle or the 'end of the age' that anticipated an apocalypse at that the dawn of the new century. In fact in 1938 Orson Welles caused a nationwide panic with his broadcast of "War of the Worlds" - a realistic radio dramatization of Well's Martian invasion of Earth.Dystopian Classic Editions publishes works of dystopian and utopian literature that have survived through the generations and been recognized as classics. A dystopian society is an imagined society in which the people are oppressed, however the government propagandizes the society as being a utopia or a perfect society. Typical themes in dystopian literature include public mistrust, police states, and overall unpleasantness for the citizens. Authors of dystopian works strive to present a worst-case scenario and negative depiction of the way things are in the story so as to make a criticism about a current situation in society and to call for a change. Each Dystopian Classic Edition selected for publication presents such a story.


Economic and Business issues in Retrospect and prospect

Economic and Business issues in Retrospect and prospect

Author: Kerem Gökten

Publisher: IJOPEC PUBLICATION

Published: 2019-03-10

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 1912503689

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There is a strong view that economics is the academic discipline that best represents the claim of positive science among social sciences. Economics has undergone significant transformations after its emergence as a science. Despite all these transformations, the feature containing positive and normative elements has not changed. While economists from the political economy tradition focus on qualitative studies that relate to other social sciences, especially political science and history, a group of economists adopt the qualitative methods of natural sciences to analyze economic problems. There is a debate among economists on how to understand social reality and what kind of science the economy should be. Business is a discipline that has declared its relative independence from economics over time. Business is a research field that encompasses a wide range of areas ranging from organizational behavior of individuals to the firm’s production and marketing strategies. This book contains articles on essential topics related to these disciplines, which have an in- separable relationship between them. Academicians contributing to the book have produced works on current topics of discussion as well as key subjects that remain important in economics and management.


Book Synopsis Economic and Business issues in Retrospect and prospect by : Kerem Gökten

Download or read book Economic and Business issues in Retrospect and prospect written by Kerem Gökten and published by IJOPEC PUBLICATION. This book was released on 2019-03-10 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a strong view that economics is the academic discipline that best represents the claim of positive science among social sciences. Economics has undergone significant transformations after its emergence as a science. Despite all these transformations, the feature containing positive and normative elements has not changed. While economists from the political economy tradition focus on qualitative studies that relate to other social sciences, especially political science and history, a group of economists adopt the qualitative methods of natural sciences to analyze economic problems. There is a debate among economists on how to understand social reality and what kind of science the economy should be. Business is a discipline that has declared its relative independence from economics over time. Business is a research field that encompasses a wide range of areas ranging from organizational behavior of individuals to the firm’s production and marketing strategies. This book contains articles on essential topics related to these disciplines, which have an in- separable relationship between them. Academicians contributing to the book have produced works on current topics of discussion as well as key subjects that remain important in economics and management.


The Cambridge Companion to William Morris

The Cambridge Companion to William Morris

Author: Marcus Waithe

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2024-04-30

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 1108832172

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A vibrant gathering of influential voices who have participated in the critical, political, and curatorial revival of William Morris's work.


Book Synopsis The Cambridge Companion to William Morris by : Marcus Waithe

Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to William Morris written by Marcus Waithe and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-04-30 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A vibrant gathering of influential voices who have participated in the critical, political, and curatorial revival of William Morris's work.


The Spectre of Utopia

The Spectre of Utopia

Author: Matthew Beaumont

Publisher: Ralahine Utopian Studies

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783034307253

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In the late nineteenth century, a spectre haunted Europe and the United States: the spectre of utopia. This book re-examines the rise of utopian thought at the fin de siècle, situating it in the social and political contradictions of the time and exploring the ways in which it articulated a deepening sense that the capitalist system might not be insuperable after all. The study pays particular attention to Edward Bellamy's seminal utopian fiction, Looking Backward (1888), embedding it in a number of unfamiliar contexts, and reading its richest passages against the grain, but it also offers detailed discussions of William Morris, H.G. Wells and Oscar Wilde. Both historical and theoretical in its approach, this book constitutes a substantial contribution to our understanding of the utopian imaginary, and an original analysis of the counter-culture in which it thrived at the fin de siècle.


Book Synopsis The Spectre of Utopia by : Matthew Beaumont

Download or read book The Spectre of Utopia written by Matthew Beaumont and published by Ralahine Utopian Studies. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the late nineteenth century, a spectre haunted Europe and the United States: the spectre of utopia. This book re-examines the rise of utopian thought at the fin de siècle, situating it in the social and political contradictions of the time and exploring the ways in which it articulated a deepening sense that the capitalist system might not be insuperable after all. The study pays particular attention to Edward Bellamy's seminal utopian fiction, Looking Backward (1888), embedding it in a number of unfamiliar contexts, and reading its richest passages against the grain, but it also offers detailed discussions of William Morris, H.G. Wells and Oscar Wilde. Both historical and theoretical in its approach, this book constitutes a substantial contribution to our understanding of the utopian imaginary, and an original analysis of the counter-culture in which it thrived at the fin de siècle.


The Nationality of Utopia

The Nationality of Utopia

Author: Maxim Shadurski

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-08-14

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1000682870

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Since its generic inception in 1516, utopia has produced visions of alterity which renegotiate, subvert, and transcend existing places. Early in the twentieth century, H. G. Wells linked utopia to the World State, whose post-national, post-Westphalian emergence he predicated on English national discourse. This critical study examines how the discursive representations of England’s geography, continuity, and character become foundational to the Wellsian utopia and elicit competing response from Wells’s contemporaries, particularly Robert Hugh Benson and Aldous Huxley, with further ramifications throughout the twentieth century. Contextualized alongside modern theories of nationalism and utopia, as well as read jointly with contemporary projections of England as place, reactions to Wells demonstrate a shift from disavowal to retrieval of England, on the one hand, and from endorsement to rejection of the World State, on the other. Attempts to salvage the residual traces of English culture from their degradation in the World State have taken increasing precedence over the imagination of a post-national order. This trend continues in the work of George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, J. G. Ballard, and Julian Barnes, whose future scenarios warn against a world without England. The Nationality of Utopia investigates utopia’s capacity to deconstruct and redeploy national discourse in ways that surpass fear and nostalgia.


Book Synopsis The Nationality of Utopia by : Maxim Shadurski

Download or read book The Nationality of Utopia written by Maxim Shadurski and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-08-14 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since its generic inception in 1516, utopia has produced visions of alterity which renegotiate, subvert, and transcend existing places. Early in the twentieth century, H. G. Wells linked utopia to the World State, whose post-national, post-Westphalian emergence he predicated on English national discourse. This critical study examines how the discursive representations of England’s geography, continuity, and character become foundational to the Wellsian utopia and elicit competing response from Wells’s contemporaries, particularly Robert Hugh Benson and Aldous Huxley, with further ramifications throughout the twentieth century. Contextualized alongside modern theories of nationalism and utopia, as well as read jointly with contemporary projections of England as place, reactions to Wells demonstrate a shift from disavowal to retrieval of England, on the one hand, and from endorsement to rejection of the World State, on the other. Attempts to salvage the residual traces of English culture from their degradation in the World State have taken increasing precedence over the imagination of a post-national order. This trend continues in the work of George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, J. G. Ballard, and Julian Barnes, whose future scenarios warn against a world without England. The Nationality of Utopia investigates utopia’s capacity to deconstruct and redeploy national discourse in ways that surpass fear and nostalgia.


Handbook of the English Novel, 1830–1900

Handbook of the English Novel, 1830–1900

Author: Martin Middeke

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-05-05

Total Pages: 686

ISBN-13: 3110376717

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Part I of this authoritative handbook offers systematic essays, which deal with major historical, social, philosophical, political, cultural and aesthetic contexts of the English novel between 1830 and 1900. The essays offer a wide scope of aspects such as the Industrial Revolution, religion and secularisation, science, technology, medicine, evolution or the increasing mediatisation of the lifeworld. Part II, then, leads through the work of more than 25 eminent Victorian novelists. Each of these chapters provides both historical and biographical contextualisation, overview, close reading and analysis. They also encourage further research as they look upon the work of the respective authors at issue from the perspectives of cultural and literary theory.


Book Synopsis Handbook of the English Novel, 1830–1900 by : Martin Middeke

Download or read book Handbook of the English Novel, 1830–1900 written by Martin Middeke and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 686 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part I of this authoritative handbook offers systematic essays, which deal with major historical, social, philosophical, political, cultural and aesthetic contexts of the English novel between 1830 and 1900. The essays offer a wide scope of aspects such as the Industrial Revolution, religion and secularisation, science, technology, medicine, evolution or the increasing mediatisation of the lifeworld. Part II, then, leads through the work of more than 25 eminent Victorian novelists. Each of these chapters provides both historical and biographical contextualisation, overview, close reading and analysis. They also encourage further research as they look upon the work of the respective authors at issue from the perspectives of cultural and literary theory.