The Great Romance
| Title | The Great Romance |
| Year for Search | 1881 |
| Authors | [Honor], [Henry] |
| Tertiary Authors | Inhabitant, The [pseud.] |
| Volume / Edition | 2 Vols. |
| Date Published | 1881 |
| Publisher | Printed at the Daily Times |
| Place Published | Dunedin |
| Keywords | Aotearoa New Zealand author, Male author |
| Annotation | Eutopia set in 2143. The focus in the eutopia is on the ability to read thoughts and its effect on behavior. Women are less able to control their thoughts than men. Crime becomes impossible. Marry young. Scientifically advanced. Much of both volumes is taken up with interplanetary travel; there is considerable material on the supposed flora and fauna of Venus including a brief description of a humanoid couple whose simple life could be considered eutopian. It is clear that a third volume was planned, but there is no evidence that it was published. In a number of articles, Alessio argues that it influenced Edward Bellamy’s popular U.S. eutopia Looking Backward (1888). Although these are remarkable volumes for their time and place, influence is doubtful. |
| Additional Publishers | Vol. 1 rpt. ed. Dominic Alessio. Science-Fiction Studies 20.3 (November 1993): 311-40; and Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries 1.1 (October 1998): 62-101. Vol. 2 rpt. ed. Dominic Alessio. Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries 2.1 (May 1999): 48-79. Rpt. together ed. Dominic Alessio. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2008. Extract rpt. in Monsters in the Garden: An Anthology of Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction and Fantasy. Ed. Elizabeth Knox and David Larsen (Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington Press, 2020), 53-60. |
| Pseudonym | The Inhabitant [pseud.] |
| Holding Institutions | ATL, DU-Ho, PSt |
| Author Note | Aotearoa/New Zealand author. |
| Full Text | 1881 [Honor, Henry]. The Great Romance. By The Inhabitant [pseud.]. 2 Vols. Dunedin, New Zealand: Printed at the Daily Times. Vol. 1 rpt. ed. Dominic Alessio. Science-Fiction Studies 20.3 (November 1993): 311-40; and Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries 1.1 (October 1998): 62-101. Vol. 2 rpt. ed. Dominic Alessio. Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries 2.1 (May 1999): 48-79. Rpt. together ed. Dominic Alessio. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2008. Extract rpt. in Monsters in the Garden: An Anthology of Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction and Fantasy. Ed. Elizabeth Knox and David Larsen (Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington Press, 2020), 53-60. ATL, DU-Ho, PSt Eutopia set in 2143. The focus in the eutopia is on the ability to read thoughts and its effect on behavior. Women are less able to control their thoughts than men. Crime becomes impossible. Marry young. Scientifically advanced. Much of both volumes is taken up with interplanetary travel; there is considerable material on the supposed flora and fauna of Venus including a brief description of a humanoid couple whose simple life could be considered eutopian. It is clear that a third volume was planned, but there is no evidence that it was published. In a number of articles, Alessio argues that it influenced Edward Bellamy’s popular U.S. eutopia Looking Backward (1888). Although these are remarkable volumes for their time and place, influence is doubtful. Aotearoa/New Zealand author. |
