Sir Walter Besant

The Inner House Sir Walter Besant

The Inner House (1888), which has been described as "a proto-Brave New World," explores the consequences of artificially prolonged human life. On June 20, 1890, Professor Schwarzbaum announces at the Royal Institute and in various newspapers all over the world that he has invented an elixir which prevents ageing in the human body. The author, Walter Besant, contributed significantly to the late-Victorian dystopian fiction with his two novel, The Inner House. Dystopian Classic Editions publishes works of dystopian literature that have survived through the generations and been recognized as classic works of literature. A dystopian society is an imagined society in which the people are oppressed, however the government propagandizes the society as being a utopia or a perfect society. Typical themes in dystopian literature include public mistrust, police states, and overall unpleasantness for the citizens. Authors of dystopian works strive to present a worst-case scenario and negative depiction of the way things are in the story so as to make a criticism about a current situation in society and to call for a change. Each Dystopian Classic Edition selected for publication presents such a story.