The Secret of Mankind With Some Singular Hints Gathered in the Elsewheres or After-Life, From Certain Eminent Personages As Also Some Brief Account of the Planet Mercury and Of Its Institutions

1895 [Brewer, Willis] (1844-1912). The Secret of Mankind With Some Singular Hints Gathered in the Elsewheres or After-Life, From Certain Eminent Personages As Also Some Brief Account of the Planet Mercury and Of Its Institutions. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. L, O, PSt, W3,665

The eutopia is on Mercury. Life is centered on the parish and in the parish on the communal hall, which is always open. Each hall has a library, museum, etc., and education takes place there through contact with educated people. Disputes are adjudicated there, contracts and marriages announced, plays performed, etc. Everyone works at a variety jobs. There are no taxes, no holidays, and estates vest in the parish on death. Only about 50% of the people marry. Marriage is seen as a partnership of equals and divorce is easy and frequent. The author was a lawyer from Alabama who served in various state offices and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1897 to 1901.