The Great Romance: A Rediscovered Utopian Adventure

by Inhabitant, Dominic Alessio (Editor), Inhabitant

The Great Romance , a two-volume novella published under the pseudonym “The Inhabitant,” was one of the outstanding late nineteenth-century works of utopian science fiction. Volume 1 was a possible model for Edward Bellamy’s phenomenally successful Looking Backward , while volume 2 was assumed lost for over a century until uncovered in the Hocken Library in Dunedin, New Zealand. Together these volumes represent a remarkable piece of science fiction writing as they proffer one of the first serious considerations of the colonization of other planets and the impact of human beings on an alien culture. Here, for the first time, readers encounter descriptions of spacesuits and airlocks, space shuttles and planetary rovers, interplanetary colonization and cross-species miscegenation. Behind these genre-defining elements is the story of John Hope, who, by means of a sleeping elixir, awakes to a utopian community in a distant future—a “kingdom of thought” where the struggle for existence has been eliminated and humanity operates under an unwritten law of civility and harmony, aided by telekinesis that inerrantly reveals all wrong-doers. Since only two of the probably three volumes are extant, the tale ends with a chilling cliffhanger. In his introduction Dominic Alessio discusses the cutting-edge aspects of this work and its significance in both the realm of science fiction and the history and culture of its day.

Genres: Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

102 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1881

Reviews

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

A recently rediscovered - if incomplete - text, about a man waking in the future to a utopian, telepathic society and then traveling to Venus, in the hope of colonising that planet. The writing style is naturally dated, but there are some interesting elements here, primarily the science of the space voyage. Some of it is incorrect, of course (the story was originally published in 1881, before the idea of a habitable Venusian environment was scuppered in its entirety) but, as the introduction lays out, some of the scientific details were exceptionally ahead of their time.

It ends on a cliffhanger, as the third part of the tale remains lost. The story itself doesn't grab me greatly, but I do find it interesting as a historical artefact, and the lengthy, informative introduction is excellent.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is kind of disjointed and not altogether complete, but overall a charming instance of an early futuristic tale. The opening sequence, in which the narrator awakens in a future where telepathy is the norm, has a very winning Victorian abashedness to it that is really kind of sexy. I really love the Bison frontiers series, and this is a worthy addition.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting example of early science fiction writing, but overall a little to schmaltzy and not enough plot for me.