Ebook355 pages5 hours
Cæsar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
Caesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century is a novel by Ignatius Donnelly, famous as the author of Atlantis: The Antediluvian World. Caesar's Column was published pseudonymously in 1890. The book has been variously categorised as science fiction, speculative fiction, dystopian fiction, and/or apocalyptic fiction; one critic has termed it an "Apocalyptic Utopia. (Wikipedia)
Read more from Ignatius Donnelly
THE ATLANTIS COLLECTION - 6 Books About The Mythical Lost World: Plato's Original Myth + The Lost Continent + The Story of Atlantis + The Antedeluvian World + New Atlantis: The Myth & The Theories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Future of Darkness: 30+ Dystopias in One Edition Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaesar’s Column Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAtlantis, the Antediluvian World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cæsar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Atlantis (6 Book Collection): Plato's Original Myth, The Lost Continent, The Story of Atlantis, The Antedeluvian World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Greatest of Dystopian Classics of All Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnthology of Dystopian Classics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAtlantis: The Antedeluvian World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaesar?s Column Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ultimate Atlantis Collection (Six-Book Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Cæsar's Column
Related ebooks
Cæsar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaesar's Column Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caesar’s Column: A Fascist Nightmare of the Rotten 20th Century American Society Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaesar's Column: A Fascist Nightmare of the Rotten 20th Century American Society – Time Travel Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Economic and Social Problem Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bravo A Tale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Abominations of Modern Society Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mysteries of London Vol 1 of 4 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great Inventions and Discoveries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bravo (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Abomination of Modern Society Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow The Poor Live, Horrible London Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnder Fire: The Story of a Squad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSome War Impressions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPilgrim and American Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Atlantic Monthly, Volume 02, No. 12, October, 1858 A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Abominations of Modern Society Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreat Britain at War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tyranny of Shams Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOut of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of Utopias Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Call of the Twentieth Century, an Address to Young Men Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Englishman Looks at the World - Being a Series of Unrestrained Remarks Upon Contemporary Matters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPilgrimage from the Alps to the Tiber: Or The Influence of Romanism on Trade, Justice, and Knowledge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrowds A Moving-Picture of Democracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDrum-Taps Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The San Francisco Calamity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Story of Mankind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSouth America To-day: A Study of Conditions, Social, Political and Commercial in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Workers: An Experiment in Reality. The West Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
General Fiction For You
The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shantaram: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Covenant of Water (Oprah's Book Club) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The City of Dreaming Books Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ulysses: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life of Pi: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dante's Divine Comedy: Inferno Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unhoneymooners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beartown: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything's Fine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Second Life of Mirielle West: A Haunting Historical Novel Perfect for Book Clubs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It Ends with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Candy House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nettle & Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Sister's Keeper: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Recital of the Dark Verses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Other Black Girl: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Cæsar's Column
Rating: 3.4375 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
8 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Way ahead of its time, like most of Donnelly's work. Not that fun to read, but amazing in its premises. Not politically correct. Racist, actually.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ignatius Donnelly - [Caesar's Column: a story of the twentieth century] Published in 1890 this has been labelled a 'forgotten book'. It was a popular success in its day combining an adventure story with visions of dystopia and utopia. It belongs undoubtedly to the genre of science fiction with its vision of a world balanced on the edge of catastrophe in 1988. There will be problems for some modern readers with its political viewpoint which advocates a socialist utopia with fascist leanings. Popular socialism probably accounted for its initial success, but today some antisemitism could be seen as more than unfortunate. The story is told by Gabriel Weltstein who becomes involved in a revolution while visiting New York. He is writing to his brother who lives in Uganda and the epistolary nature of the book puts it into a first person point of view. Gabriel discovers that future America (1988) is ruled by a corrupt capitalist elite. Rampant capitalism and greed have reduced the vast majority to almost slave labour and this pattern has been repeated in Europe."Europe is a banking association conducted exclusively for the benefit of the bankers. Bonds take the place of national aspirations. To squeeze the wretched is the great end of government; to toil and submit, the destiny of the peoples".Gabriel rescues a man from being run down by a horse and carriage soon after he arrives and falls in love with a young woman passenger. The man(Max) proves to be one of the leaders of an underground plot to overthrow the capitalist oligarchy and Gabriel soon gets involved. He must also rescue Estelle (the young woman) who has been sold as a concubine to the house of Prince Cabano the effective head of the oligarchy. The date of the uprising is only days away and Gabrielle is frightened by the rapacious mobs that he predicts will be in the forefront of the revolution. He realises that Max and his network of followers cannot control the situation. Gabrielle gets a first hand account of the world situation from Max which allows the author to paint a picture of a world where 1% or less of the population control all the resources and the more power they get allows them to drive down wages and increase profits. He gives a short history, which demonstrates how the huge ghettos were created and prove to be excellent recruiting ground for revolutionaries. The adventure story is Gabrielles attempts to rescue Estelle and flee the revolutionaries who are out for the blood of all well dressed people. Bloody encounters and horrific scenes are described; civilisation is on the brink of destruction and Donnelly spends a chapter on describing a new utopia based on socialist principles that could emerge from the wreckage: the political story runs parallel with the derring-do. The book written in 1880 certainly feels like a Victorian novel. Although it would be only nine years before the invention of the motor car Donnelly does not see this coming and so horse and carriages are the main form of transport and dirigibles are the only form of air traffic. He imagines that man has tapped into the Aurora Borealis to provide light, despite electric street lighting by being trialed in London two years earlier. This makes the book feel more like a political adventure story rather than science fiction.This mixed bag of popular entertainment and political education is not without its merits as certainly some aspects of the novel seem to point the way to where the current world situation is maybe heading. Ignatius Donnelly was an American Congressman, populist writer and fringe scientist. The adventure story is full of Victorian naivety but it is a useful peg on which Donnelly can practice his political theories. It is violent and probably excessive, but is an interesting read and so three stars.
Book preview
Cæsar's Column - Ignatius Donnelly
o2^ book_preview_excerpt.html }ێG寄ɞaV%Ab4
3v07ťRs{Dj`Fʌp7˱cfίo7i/|?z/G|w?{/}>\\C5)ŹU%N:OCW}NE[}2/1*ՏV2L/j*=hk{|dJ/KX"7P=w_{~9To~Wa>N ݡ
KՆy)˸L?rSm|ܫ[Z%7Uwa1yKSX?Uu _1Nc\жwy|U}&Nx
Rm?țxłC7S>u
s5=.Sb댍6V?]ups[:
aJ۶:F|"sŞ;e ^#V̱=Cg.^6V@ͦ8/xqlC0si{lz~S}Uox5Tض{|վYwlvăϷpRN&<%s7oTuc³-5A]oKƵLa(dil%=#菈6x)އ[T16 m&%/ŅD!|-Gv}Ö[Hq[Uʻr7kaTWD²y AhO7yS2B5g5M.}\R}BpS<^y~AVbȑlmg{QpšsZR=G\5>@:[eSa_ڬV6,+bBP~ṧt_'4ᝇ70j<tò};0MdrPdPgg0Ɓ_8o?<WF`ɷ
>p;4P&BWbza[XUD "-4јvI E?dC؍ħ0R) umGŧ;EHHy