Edward Bellamy (March 26, 1850 – May 22, 1898) was an American author, journalist, and political activist most famous for his utopian novel Looking Backward. Bellamy's vision of a harmonious future world inspired the formation of numerous "Nationalist Clubs" dedicated to the propagation of state ownership of the main pillars of the economy, achieved through nationalization.
Looking Backward: 2000–1887 is a utopian time travel science fiction novel by the American journalist and writer Edward Bellamy first published in 1888.
. . .The book was translated into several languages, and in short order "sold a million copies." According to historian Daniel Immerwahr, "In the 19th-century United States, only Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold more copies in its first years" than Bellamy's book.The novel inspired several utopian communities. In the United States alone, over 162 "Bellamy Clubs" sprang up to discuss and propagate the book's ideas. According to Erich Fromm, "It is one of the few books ever published that created almost immediately on its appearance a political mass movement.". . .Looking Backward influenced the novel Future of a New China by Liang Qichao.
An excerpt from, "Edward Bellamy: An Introductory Bibliography" By Peggy Ann Brown, American Studies International, October 1988:
A perennial favorite on high school and college reading lists, Looking Backward has sparked modest attention during the centennial of its publication. Scholarly interest has included a handful of conferences, meeting sessions, and journal articles. And although no centennial edition of Looking Backward has been published, the University of Massachusetts Press is marking the occasion with an essay collection titled Looking Backward , 1988-1888. Essays on Edward Bellamy (1989). Bellamy has received popular recognition via crossword puzzle clues and an article in the New York Times Book Review highly critical of the novel's totalitarian tone. An episode of CBS's popular "Murder, She Wrote" paid quiet homage with a minor character identified as Ed Bellamy from Massachusetts.
While Bellamy's reputation rightly rests on Looking Backward's images and appeal, a full appreciation of his contributions as a social visionary and transformation from literary recluse to political activist requires attention to his earlier writings. This essay provides a brief introduction to Bellamy's literary and political career through works by and about the novelist.
Video Title: Who was Edward Bellamy? Source: Edward Bellamy House. Date Published: December 1, 2020.
