"The World as Will and Wallpaper"

Title"The World as Will and Wallpaper"
Year for Search1973
AuthorsLafferty, R[aphael] A[loysius](1914-2002)
Secondary AuthorsElwood, Roger [Paul](1943-2007)
Tertiary AuthorsLafferty, R. A.
Secondary TitleFuture City
Pagination28-43
Date Published1973
PublisherTrident
Place PublishedNew York
ISBN Number9781473213449 978-1250778536
KeywordsMale author, US author
Annotation

Dystopian satire referring to William Morris (1834-96), whose name is used for the protagonist. A city encompasses the world, which is built above land and oceans. The one area of trees in the city is considered huge in that it covers two blocks. The story follows a man who wants to explore the world and his trip reveals that most people are illiterate, communicate poorly, and have very limited lives, but that there is an elite who created the city to keep the majority of the people content and controlled.

Additional Publishers

Book rpt. (New York: Pocket Books, 1974), 28-43; story rpt. in The Best Science Fiction of the Year #3. Ed. Terry Carr (New York: Ballantine Books, 1974), 27-43; and in The Best of R. A. Lafferty. Ed. Jonathan Strahan (London: Gollancz, 2019), 356-74, with an Introduction by Samuel R[ay] Delany (353-55). Rpt. New York: Tor, 2021.

Holding Institutions

DLC, Merril, MoU-St, PSt

Author Note

(1914-2002)

Full Text

1973 Lafferty, R[aphael] A[loysius] (1914-2002). “The World as Will and Wallpaper.” Future City. Ed. Roger [Paul] Elwood (New York: Trident, 1973), 28-43. Book rpt. (New York: Pocket Books, 1974), 28-43; story rpt. in The Best Science Fiction of the Year #3. Ed. Terry Carr (New York: Ballantine Books, 1974), 27-43; and in The Best of R. A. Lafferty. Ed. Jonathan Strahan (London: Gollancz, 2019), 356-74, with an Introduction by Samuel R[ay] Delany (353-55). Rpt. New York: Tor, 2021. DLC, Merril, MoU-St, PSt

Dystopian satire referring to William Morris (1834-96), whose name is used for the protagonist. A city encompasses the world, which is built above land and oceans. The one area of trees in the city is considered huge in that it covers two blocks. The story follows a man who wants to explore the world and his trip reveals that most people are illiterate, communicate poorly, and have very limited lives, but that there is an elite who created the city to keep the majority of the people content and controlled.