Three Early Modern Utopias

Product Description

Thomas More: Utopia/ Francis Bacon: New Atlantis/ Henry Neville: The Isle of Pines With the publication of Utopia (1516) Thomas More introduced into the English language not only a new word but a new way of thinking about the gulf between what ought to be & what is. His Utopia is at once a scathing analysis of the shortcomings of his own society a realistic suggestion for an alternative mode of social organization & a satire on unrealistic idealism. Enormously influential it remains a challenging as well as a playful text. This edition reprints Ralph Robinsons 1556 translation from Mores original Latin together with letters & illustrations that accompanied early editions of Utopia. Utopia was only one of many early modern treatments of other worlds. This edition also

Includes:: two other hitherto less accessible utopian narratives. New Atlantis (1627) offers a fictional illustration of Francis Bacons visionary ideal of the role that science should play in the modern society. Henry Nevilles The Isle of Pines (1668) a precursor of Defoes Robinson Crusoe engages with some of the sexual racial & colonialist anxieties of the end of the early modern period. Together these texts illustrate the diversity of the early modern utopian imagination as well as the different purposes to which it could be put. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford Worlds Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxfords commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities helpful notes to clarify the text up-to-date bibliographies for further study & much more.