List of sequels to Looking Backward
Encyclopedia
Looking Backward is a utopia
n novel by Edward Bellamy
, a lawyer and writer from western Massachusetts
. First published in 1888
(Ticknor and Company Copyrighted the work in 1887), it describes a young man, named Julian West, who falls asleep in 1887 and wakes up in 2000 to find the USA has become a socialist utopia. In the first years of its release, Looking Backward sold more than 1 million copies. More than 160 Nationalist or "Bellamy" clubs formed to propagate the book's ideas. Many authors wrote utopian fiction to attack, support, ridicule, or defend Bellamy's ideas. Scholars count over 150 sequels or other fictional responses to Bellamy's book. This list focuses on works that (to various extents) use the same setting or characters as Looking Backward.
Young West
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n novel by Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy was an American author and socialist, most famous for his utopian novel, Looking Backward, set in the year 2000. He was a very influential writer during the Gilded Age of United States history.-Early life:...
, a lawyer and writer from western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts is a loosely defined geographical region of the U.S. state of Massachusetts which contains the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley, and some or all of the Swift River Valley. The region is always considered to include Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties, and the...
. First published in 1888
1888 in literature
The year 1888 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Grant Allen - The Devil's Die**The White Man's Foot*Edward Bellamy - Looking Backward*Rolf Boldrewood - Robbery Under Arms...
(Ticknor and Company Copyrighted the work in 1887), it describes a young man, named Julian West, who falls asleep in 1887 and wakes up in 2000 to find the USA has become a socialist utopia. In the first years of its release, Looking Backward sold more than 1 million copies. More than 160 Nationalist or "Bellamy" clubs formed to propagate the book's ideas. Many authors wrote utopian fiction to attack, support, ridicule, or defend Bellamy's ideas. Scholars count over 150 sequels or other fictional responses to Bellamy's book. This list focuses on works that (to various extents) use the same setting or characters as Looking Backward.
Equality
- Equality (18971897 in literatureThe year 1897 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* January 2 - Newspapers in London, England erroneously report the death of Mark Twain. It is believed that the rumors began when Twain's cousin had become ill...
), by Edward Bellamy. Bellamy's sequel to his earlier book deals with women's rights, education and many other issues. Bellamy wrote the sequel to elaborate and clarify many of the ideas merely touched upon in Looking Backward. Less successful than Looking Backward, Equality continues the story of Julian West as he adjusts to life in the future. A short story "The Parable of the Water-Tank" from the book was popular with a number of early AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
socialistsSocialismSocialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
.
A. D. 2050
- A. D. 2050: Electrical Development at Atlantis (San Francisco: Bancroft, 18901890 in literatureThe year 1890 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* Bram Stoker begins work on Dracula.*Arthur Morrison joins the staff of the Evening Globe newspaper.-New books:*Rolf Boldrewood - The Squatter's Dream...
). Author credited as "A Former Resident of the Hub" (believed to be John Bachelder). In A. D. 2050, people tired of living under Nationalism flee to a previously undiscovered continent, call it Atlantis, and create a form of modified capitalism. They repel several invasions from China.
A Leap Into the Future
- A Leap into the Future, or How Things Will Be: A Romance of the Year 2000 (Albany, New York: Weed, Parsons, & Co. 1890) by Donald McMartin. Continues where Looking Backward left off, with Julian West still adjusting to the future and visiting various institutions of the year 2000. West also gains the power to visit the nineteenth century in his dreams, and several chapters deal with his experiences comparing the past with the future.
Looking Backward and What I Saw
- Looking Backward And What I Saw (Minneapolis: Harrison and Smith, c. 1890), by W.W. Satterlee. The narrator of this work falls asleep and dreams he visits a future USA that has embraced Bellamy's ideology. However, since everyone is guaranteed an income regardless of how much work they do, the vast majority of the population have become tramps and vagabonds. This book also borrows heavily from Pilgrim's Progress, as the narrator has several visionary dreams within the main dream, including one where he visits Vanity Fair.
Looking Further Forward
- Looking Further Forward (Rand, McNaly and Co.: Chicago, 1890), by Richard C. Michaelis. Julian West discovers that utopia is on the verge of collapse. A series of dialogues with a janitor (who used to be a professor but was fired when he criticized the state) discuss how controlled capitalism is superior to socialism. A bloody massacre erupts when a jilted lover of Edith Leete (West's beloved in Looking Backward) leads a violent revolution.
Looking Further Backward
- Looking Further Backward (Albany: Albany Book Company, 1890), by Arthur Dudley VintonArthur Dudley VintonArthur Dudley Vinton was an author and lawyer born in Brooklyn, New York. Vinton was the son of Elizabeth and Reverend Dr. Francis Vinton. His mother’s father was Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry...
. The Chinese invade Bellamy's utopian America. As the utopian United States has abolished the military, only Julian West understands war and what is at stake — however, no one will listen to him as they are unable to think for themselves because the future system has abolished individuality. The book is presented as a series of lectures given by Won Lung Li (or "One Long Lie"), the Chinese successor to West's post as professor of History.
One of "Berrian's" Novels
- One of “Berrian’s” Novels (New York: Welch, Fracker Company, 1890), by C.H. Stone. In Looking Backward, Berrian was the greatest novelist of the year 2000. This was an attempt to write a "Berrian" novel, to show that fiction could still be interesting, even if set in a conflict free utopia. The plot deals with a last ditch attempt by a discontented few to overthrow the socialist government. The main heroine, Lys, is torn between two lovers, one a virtuous man and the other one of the malcontents preaching rebellion.
Looking Beyond
- Looking Beyond: A Sequel to "Looking Backward" by Edward Bellamy, and an Answer to "Looking Further Forward" by Richard Michaelis (L. Graham and Son: New Orleans, 18911891 in literatureThe year 1891 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Guy de Maupassant is officially diagnosed as insane.*Tristan Bernard has his first work published in La Revue Blanche....
), by Ludwig A. Geissler. In this tale, the violent revolution presented at the end of Richard Michaelis's book becomes Julian West's nightmare, and so never happened. West learns that the janitor he has been talking to is wrong on all points, and a debate between a supporter and a skeptic of the future society ends with Bellamy's utopia triumphant. Also, Earth establishes communication with Mars.
Mr. East's Experiences in Mr. Bellamy's World
- Mr. East's Experiences in Mr. Bellamy's World (Harper: New York, 1891), by Conrad Wilbrandt and translated by Mary J. Safford (originally written in German). Mr. Ost (Mr. East), a German, reads Looking Backward and decides to try being mesmerised (as Julian West was in Bellamy's book). He awakens in the future society of Looking Backward, only to discover it is full of shoddy goods, poor wages, and sexual favoritism.
Looking Within
- Looking Within: The Misleading Tendencies of "Looking Backward" Made Manifest (A.S. Barnes: New York, 18931893 in literatureThe year 1893 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*André Gide begins his travels in North Africa.*Jerome K. Jerome founds the magazine To-Day.-New books:*Byron A...
) by J. W. Roberts. The narrator (James North) acquires a potion that allows him and his beloved to sleep in suspended animation for several years. They first awaken in 1927 to discover the United States in open class warfare. They sleep again and awaken in 2000 and meet Julian West, Dr. Leete and other denizens of Bellamy's utopia. They discover rampant favoritism and a society on the brink of collapse. Sleeping again, they awaken in 2025 to find that society has returned to capitalism to survive.
Young WestYoung WestYoung West: A Sequel to Edward Bellamy's Celebrated Novel "Looking Backward" is an 1894 utopian novel, written by Solomon Schindler, radical rabbi of Boston...
- Young West: A Sequel to Edward Bellamy's Celebrated Novel "Looking Backward" (18941894 in literatureThe year 1894 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Robert Frost sells his first poem, "My Butterfly", to The New York Independent for fifteen dollars.*Hermann Hesse begins his apprenticeship at a factory in Calw....
), by Solomon SchindlerSolomon SchindlerSolomon Schindler was a rabbi and author. He was born at Neisse, Germany, and was educated at Breslau. Coming to the United States during 1871, he was minister of congregations at Hoboken, N. J., and in Boston until 1894. He was also a member of the Boston School Board during 1888-94...
, describes the adventures of Julian West's son, who (after discovering a way to make sewage useful) becomes president of the future utopia.
My Afterdream
- My Afterdream (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 19001900 in literatureThe year 1900 in literature involved some significant new books and publications, as well as the deaths of several highly prominent writers, including among them the late Irish poet Oscar Wilde and the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche....
), by "Julian West" (a pseudonymPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
; actual author unknown). This parody takes many of Bellamy's suggestions to hilarious logical extremes to portray Bellamy's ideas as impractical. For example, Bellamy said that work time would vary, based on how enjoyable the job was. Therefore, in this novel, funeral processions require hundreds of people to carry the caskets, as each person can only spend a few minutes working. However, artists must work full 48 hour weeks because their work is enjoyable.
Looking Forward
- Looking Forward: The Phenomenal Progress of Electricity in 1912 (Valley View Publishing: Northampton, Mass., 19061906 in literatureThe year 1906 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* December 24 - Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio program, a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech, broadcasts....
), by Harry W. Hillman. A prequel, this book is dedicated to Bellamy, and describes a revolution in electricity that will help bring about Bellamy's world.
Looking Backward from the Year 2000
- Looking Backward from the Year 2000 (19731973 in literatureThe year 1973 in literature involved several significant events and the writing of many notable books.-Events:*September 25 - The funeral of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda becomes a focus for protests against the new government of Augusto Pinochet...
), by Mack ReynoldsMack ReynoldsDallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Clark Collins, Mark Mallory, Guy McCord, Dallas Ross and Maxine Reynolds. Many of his stories were published in Galaxy Magazine and Worlds of If Magazine...
. This is a remakeRemakeA remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
or retelling of Bellamy's original novel.
Equality in the Year 2000
- Equality in the Year 2000 (19771977 in literatureThe year 1977 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Douglas Adams begins writing for BBC radio.*V. S. Naipaul declines the offer of a CBE....
), by Mack ReynoldsMack ReynoldsDallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Clark Collins, Mark Mallory, Guy McCord, Dallas Ross and Maxine Reynolds. Many of his stories were published in Galaxy Magazine and Worlds of If Magazine...
. A sequel to Looking Backward from the Year 2000.
Edward Bellamy Writes Again
- Edward Bellamy Writes Again (1997), by Joseph R. Myers. This self-published revision of "Looking Backward" is written in a similar style and structure to the original "Looking Backward," but focuses more on spiritual and moral possibilities, rather than political and economic possibilities. The author argues in the book's preface that he is in fact Bellamy's reincarnation and has returned to update the original. The beliefs and teachings in this book are heavily influenced by the teachings and visions of Edgar CayceEdgar CayceEdgar Cayce was an American psychic who allegedly had the ability to give answers to questions on subjects such as healing or Atlantis while in a hypnotic trance...
.