JulianWest,afecklessaristocratlivinginBostonin1887,plungesintoadeephypnoticsleep.Whenhewakesupintheyear2000,Americahasbeenturnedintoarigorouslycentralizeddemocraticsocietyinwhicheverythingiscontrolledbyahumaneandefficientstate.Inlittlemorethanahundredyears,thehorrorsofnineteenth-centurycapitalismhavebeenallbutforgotten.BroadstreetshavereplacedthesqualidslumsofBoston,andtechnologicalinventionshavetransformedpeople’severydaylives.Exiledfromthepast,Westexcitedlysettlesintotheidealsocietyofthefuture,whilestillfearingthathehasdreamtuphisexperiencesasatimetraveller.EdwardBellamy’sLookingBackwardisathunderousindictmentofindustrialcapitalismandaresplendentvisionoflifeinasocialistutopia.MatthewBeaumont’slivelyeditionexploresthepoliticalandpsychologicalpeculiaritiesofthiscelebratedutopianfiction.AbouttheSeries:Forover100yearsOxfordWorld’sClassicshasmadeavailablethebroadestspectrumofliteraturefromaroundtheglobe.EachaffordablevolumereflectsOxford’scommitmenttoscholarship,providingthemostaccuratetextplusawealthofothervaluablefeatures,includingexpertintroductionsbyleadingauthorities,voluminousnotestoclarifythetext,up-to-datebibliographiesforfurtherstudy,andmuchmore.
