Translated by Cloudesley Brereton. With a pref. by H.G. Wells.
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.
Westport, Conn.,
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Hyperion Press
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
[1974]
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
vii, 198 pages
Dimensions
23 cm.
SERIES
Series Title
Classics of science fiction
GENERAL NOTES
Text of Note
Reprint of the 1905 ed. published by Duckworth, London.
Text of Note
Translation of Fragment d'histoire future.
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
Mankind is driven underground by the extinction of the sun; attitudes change dramatically as the migrants drill deeper and deeper. The book is divided into three sections. In the first, de Tarde ironically outlines man's struggle to build a Utopia; in the second, the sun turns red, the sea becomes ice, the air begins to fall in flakes of nitrogen and oxygen. Persuaded that power and heat can be obtained from the center of the earth, the survivors start digging enormous crypts. Here, under the earth, they build a genial and artistic community, with marvelous labor-saving machines that enable them to concentrate on creating works of art.