'''''Looking Backward: 2000-1887''''' is a
utopian novel by
Edward Bellamy, first published in
1888.
The book tells the story of Julian West, a young
American who, towards the end of the
19th century, falls into a deep, hypnosis-induced sleep and wakes up more than a century later. He finds himself on the same spot but in a totally changed world: It is the year 2000 and, while he was sleeping, the U.S.A. has been transformed into a socialist utopia.
The young man readily finds a guide who shows him round and who explains all the advances of this new age, including, for example, drastically reduced working hours for people performing menial jobs and community kitchens for busy housewives.
The novel is often seen as a companion piece to
William Morriss 1890 utopia News from Nowhere. The books descriptions of utopian
urban planning had a practical influence on
Ebenezer Howard's founding of the
garden city movement in England, and on the design of the
Bradbury Building in Los Angeles.
External link
Category:1888 books