Erewhon

Erewhon: or, Over the Range is a satirical novel detailing the adventures of an unnamed narrator into the fictional country of Erewhon. The novel was written by Samuel Butler, though it was published anonymously in 1872. Butler was known for his controversial views on religion and science, wavering between support of and condemnation of both the Church of England and the Darwinian scientists. As such, his own views influence the satire of the novel, and Erewhon is essentially an exploration of the issues that Butler observed in Victorian England, such as flaws in the legal, educational, and scientific institutions of the time.

Although Butler did not subscribe to any particular literary school of thought, he was writing in the Victorian period, which roughly encompasses Queen Victoria’s reign from 1832-1901. The dominant writing styles of the time were aesthetic, romantic, or decadent, but the tone of Erewhon hearkens back to the satirical works of the early 18th century, echoing the stylistic trappings of the work which likely inspired it: Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift. Erewhon did not win any awards, nor did Butler have much critical success during his lifetime, but in the 20th century, Erewhon inspired such writers as Aldus Huxley, who wrote Brave New World, George Orwell, who wrote 1984, and Frank Herbert, in whose Dune series exists a “Butlerian Jihad” combining the Erewhonian distaste for machines with the Islamic concept of a holy war.