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Erewhon; Or, Over the Range

By Samuel Butler
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British LiteratureNovels

About This Book

A traveler relates arrival in a remote, imagined land and records encounters with customs that invert familiar moral and legal assumptions. Through episodes of first impressions, imprisonment, encounters with reformers and malcontents, and eventual escape, the narrative satirizes social institutions, religion, and notions of responsibility by depicting laws that punish illness and revere ritual while treating mechanical growth with apprehension. Interleaved essays examine education, economic practices, and speculative philosophy, including a sustained argument that machines might evolve agency and sections considering the ethical claims of nonhuman life. The work combines travel fiction and polemic to probe progress, habit, and human self-deception.

About the Author

Butler, Samuel portrait

Samuel Butler

Samuel Butler was an English novelist, essayist, and social critic, known for his satirical and thought-provoking works. His most famous novel, "Erewhon," published in 1872, presents a unique utopian society that challenges contemporary Victorian values and explores themes of evolution and morality. Butler's writings often reflect his interest in science and philosophy, as seen in his essays and critiques of Darwinism in "Evolution, Old & New." He also authored travel narratives, such as "Alps and Sanctuaries of Piedmont and the Canton Ticino," showcasing his keen observations of culture and landscape. Butler's literary contributions continue to resonate, marking him as a significant figure in 19th-century literature.

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