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y separately published work icon A Visit to Blestland single work   novel   science fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 1896... 1896 A Visit to Blestland
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In W. H. Galier's A Visit to Blestland the characters are at sea in a strong wind when the ocean takes on the the appearance of fire and gives off electrical sparks. Losing control of their boat, they are whisked along through the air, shrouded in the 'Cimmerian darkness' of a mysterious cloud. Once they arrive on the planet Blestland, the narrative descends to guided tours of buildings and institutions, interspersed with talk and theorizing. Galier's title has religious overtones, but these are largely ironic, for religion is seen as a hindrance to social justice ... Like McIver's Neuroomia, A Visit to Blestland reflects the desire for utopia without offering concrete proposals for change.'

Source: Blackford et al. Strange Constellations: A History of Science Fiction.

Notes

  • A novel about the creation of a Utopian civilisation.
  • This work has been digitised by the Reason in Revolt project.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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Works about this Work

Futures without Financial Crises : Utopian Literature in the 1890s and 1930s Verity Burgmann , David Milner , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Continuum : Journal of Media & Cultural Studies , vol. 23 no. 6 2009; (p. 839 - 853) 'Australian utopian fiction of the 1890s and 1930s reflects the traumatic impact of the economic crises of these decades and expresses desire to avoid the insecurities of capitalism. There are significant differences, however, in the imaginative reach of the utopias devised in the 1890s and those formulated in the 1930s. In Australia in the 1890s, the possibilities for progress and perfection were varied. Unionism, socialist legislation, the formation of ideal communities based on socialist or anarchist principles, militant forms of protest, attempts to inaugurate direct rather than mere representative democracy were some of the various strategies pursued in this decade that promised a better world. The methods depicted in the utopian writings of the 1890s for achieving ideal societies are as diverse as the real politically radical currents of the time. By the 1930s, the starkly singular conception of emancipation offered by the Soviet model dominates the imagination of those who wrote of better futures. The utopian literature of the 1930s is thus diminished by its fascination with an alleged model of perfection in the real world. The differences between the utopian literatures of two decades undergoing similar upheavals confirms Darko Suvin's observation that the parameters of utopian imagination are produced by the particular radical milieux around those who dare to dream of alternatives.' (Author's abstract)
Futures without Financial Crises : Utopian Literature in the 1890s and 1930s Verity Burgmann , David Milner , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Continuum : Journal of Media & Cultural Studies , vol. 23 no. 6 2009; (p. 839 - 853) 'Australian utopian fiction of the 1890s and 1930s reflects the traumatic impact of the economic crises of these decades and expresses desire to avoid the insecurities of capitalism. There are significant differences, however, in the imaginative reach of the utopias devised in the 1890s and those formulated in the 1930s. In Australia in the 1890s, the possibilities for progress and perfection were varied. Unionism, socialist legislation, the formation of ideal communities based on socialist or anarchist principles, militant forms of protest, attempts to inaugurate direct rather than mere representative democracy were some of the various strategies pursued in this decade that promised a better world. The methods depicted in the utopian writings of the 1890s for achieving ideal societies are as diverse as the real politically radical currents of the time. By the 1930s, the starkly singular conception of emancipation offered by the Soviet model dominates the imagination of those who wrote of better futures. The utopian literature of the 1930s is thus diminished by its fascination with an alleged model of perfection in the real world. The differences between the utopian literatures of two decades undergoing similar upheavals confirms Darko Suvin's observation that the parameters of utopian imagination are produced by the particular radical milieux around those who dare to dream of alternatives.' (Author's abstract)
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Last amended 17 Mar 2016 15:14:29
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