The Bitter Pill

TitleThe Bitter Pill
Year for Search1974
AuthorsChandler, A[rthur] Bertram(1912-84)
Tertiary AuthorsChandler, A. Bertram
Date Published1974
PublisherWren
Place PublishedMelbourne, VIC, Australia
KeywordsAustralian author, English author, Male author
Annotation

Dystopia of generational conflict in which individuals are classified as a "Senior Citizen" at 45 and given the "choice" of voluntary euthanasia or working in an Australian forced labour camp or a Martian penal colony. Mars is being developed to take Earth's excess population. A revolt on Mars frees the people to build a new life there with no compulsory retirement, but the ending suggests that Mars faces an uncertain future of conflicts over power.

Additional Publishers

Developed from his "The Bitter Pill." Vision of Tomorrow (Sydney, NSW, Australia) 1.9 (June 1970): 52-63.

Holding Institutions

A, M, NZ

Author Note

The author (1912-84) was born in England and immigrated to Australia in 1956.

Full Text

1974 Chandler, A[rthur] Bertram (1912-84). The Bitter Pill. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Wren. Developed from his “The Bitter Pill.” Vision of Tomorrow (Sydney, NSW, Australia) 1.9 (June 1970): 52-63. A, M, NZ

Dystopia of generational conflict in which individuals are classified as a “Senior Citizen” at 45 and given the “choice” of voluntary euthanasia or working in an Australian forced labour camp or a Martian penal colony. Mars is being developed to take Earth’s excess population. A revolt on Mars frees the people to build a new life there with no compulsory retirement, but the ending suggests that Mars faces an uncertain future of conflicts over power. The author was born in England and immigrated to Australia in 1956.