Dec 25, 2009

When the Sleeper Wakes | When the Sleeper Wakes

At a glance:

Author: H. G. Wells
First Published: 1899
Type of Work: Novel
Type of Plot: Science fiction—dystopia
Time of Work: 2100
Setting: London, England
Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction, Dystopian fiction
Subjects: Future, England or English people, London, Capitalism, Christ figures or saviors, Brainwashing, Victorian era or Victorianism, Hypnotism, Sleep
Locales: London, England

The Plot

Although When the Sleeper Wakes was revised, altered, and republished in 1910 (under the title The Sleeper Wakes), the original 1899 edition is considered the standard text. The story concerns a middle-aged Victorian man named Graham who falls into a mesmeric trance and wakes in the future. The new London that greets him is a mechanized city of polished steel and glass controlled by a council of powerful men who are themselves a combination of political despots and capitalist exploiters. The proletarian masses are herded along an elaborate public...

[The entire page is 990 words long]

When the Sleeper Wakes | When the Sleeper Wakes

At a glance:

The Plot

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