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greenej's review against another edition
3.0
Three Hundred Years Hence is a fascinating utopian novel, the first by a woman in the US, published in 1836. In many ways it anticipates the much more famous Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy--a similar plot structure, for example. However Griffith's focus is on women's rights. Looking forward 300 years, she imagines a society in which women have been liberated and as a result all of society has emerged from darkness. Women have reinterpreted society, invented new technologies, and generated new levels of freedom for everyone. There is a single tax, railroads are run by the government. Enslaved people have been emancipated, however they have all been removed to Liberia. And Griffith wholly ducks the question of Indians--although in other writings she expressed a sense of the injustice of their treatment, she seemed not to want to offend readers by raising the issue here. (For more on this and other issues, see Duangrudi Suksang's essay: https://web.archive.org/web/20080219210552/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-66454600.html)
Oddly although the book stands out for its views on women, there are no women in the plot. This and the generally polemical nature of the book (as in many 19th c. utopian novels) makes it a rather dry read. But the notion of a woman writer imagining such changes in our world many years later nonetheless makes it a worthwhile read.
Oddly although the book stands out for its views on women, there are no women in the plot. This and the generally polemical nature of the book (as in many 19th c. utopian novels) makes it a rather dry read. But the notion of a woman writer imagining such changes in our world many years later nonetheless makes it a worthwhile read.
123aah456's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
bozwart's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
stephg's review against another edition
3.0
Griffith "imagined a future in which society's advancements increase dramatically due to one major structural shift: supporting women in science." - foreword. Hopefully it doesn't take until 2135!
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