Erewhon
'Erewhon' Summary
The first few chapters of the novel dealing with the discovery of Erewhon are in fact based on Butler's own experiences in New Zealand, where, as a young man, he worked as a sheep farmer on Mesopotamia Station for about four years (1860–64), and explored parts of the interior of the South Island and which he wrote about in his A First Year in Canterbury Settlement (1863).
The novel is one of the first to explore ideas of artificial intelligence, as influenced by Darwin's recently published On the Origin of Species (1859) and the machines developed out of the Industrial Revolution (late 18th to early 19th centuries). Specifically, it concerns itself, in the three-chapter "Book of the Machines", with the potentially dangerous ideas of machine consciousness and self-replicating machines.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1872Author
Samuel Butler
United Kingdom
Samuel Butler was an English novelist and critic. He is best known for the satirical utopian novel Erewhon (1872) and the semi-autobiographical The Way of All Flesh, published posthumously in 1903. Bo...
More on Samuel ButlerDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
Paul and Virginia by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre
Paul and Virginia was first published in 1787. The novel's title characters are very good friends since birth who fall in love, but sadly die when the...
Before Adam by Jack London
Before Adam is a novel by Jack London, serialized in 1906 and 1907 in Everybody's Magazine. It is the story of a man who dreams he lives the life of a...
Peter und Alexej by Dmitry Merezhkovsky
"Peter und Alexej" von Dmitry Merezhkovsky ist ein ergreifendes Werk, das die tiefe Verbindung zwischen Peter dem Großen und seinem treuen Gefährten A...
Percy Wynn, or Making a Boy of Him by Francis J. Finn
In this volume, which follows the author's popular book "Tom Playfair", a new boy is just arriving at St. Maure's boarding school. Percy Wynn has grow...
Ellen Middleton by Georgiana Fullerton
It tells the story of a young woman named Ellen, who finds herself torn between her love for a Catholic man and her loyalty to her Protestant family....
Mardi Vol. 1 by Herman Melville
Have you ever wondered what lies beyond the veil of reality? In Herman Melville's classic novel, Mardi, a young man named Taji embarks on an epic jou...
Elissa by H. Rider Haggard
It tells the story of the legendary Queen of Carthage, Elissa, also known as Dido, and her journey from Phoenicia to North Africa, where she founded t...
Prince and Heretic by Marjorie Bowen
This novel is centered on the Dutch House of Orange, and begins with its prince, William. It is set in the time of the Holy Inquisition, when tensions...
Paul: A Herald of the Cross by Florence Morse Kingsley
"Saul of Tarsus, the great persecutor of Christians, is transformed into Paul, the greatest missionary of the early church." Paul: A Herald of the Cr...
Beyond Lies the Wub & The Skull by Philip K. Dick
"Beyond Lies the Wub" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was his first published genre story, originally appearing...
Reviews for Erewhon
No reviews posted or approved, yet...