After London Or Wild England edition by Richard Jefferies Reference eBooks
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After London Or Wild England edition by Richard Jefferies Reference eBooks
One hundred twenty-five years before the TV series "Life After People", there was Richard Jefferies and "After London".Jefferies was a naturalist. His autobiography, "The Story of my Heart", has an almost mystical quality to it as he enthuses over nature and derides urbanization and industrialization. In "After London", he gives us a post-apocalyptic novel that speculates what might happen if suddenly the vast majority of the population disappeared. It is possibly the first of what later became known as "cozy catastrophes".
The novel is divided into two parts. The first part relates the catastrophe and its aftermath. In true cozy catastrophe fashion, the disaster itself is never really discussed. It simply happened. The narrator of the tale then goes on to describe the effect on the land that a radically reduced population would have.
One gets the feeling this is something Jefferies would very much like to have happen.
The second part of the novel is an adventure/coming-of-age story set in the now radically altered England. At one point, the hero stumbles onto the site of the buried ancient city of London. The miasma of pollution, with its deadly effects, is still very much in evidence many generations after the city's demise.
On the plus side, I found the story very interesting from an ecology and back-to-nature standpoint. Jefferies' speculation on how society reformed after the disaster seemed very plausible. On the negative side, I thought the book a bit ponderous and the ending abrupt.
Those who want their post-apocalyptic stories filled with zombies and violent action will need to look elsewhere. "After London" won't give you that. If you want a story of hope and possibility, along the lines of Stewart's cozy catastrophe "Earth Abides", where the survivors attempt to rebuild civilization, then "After London" may be your cup of tea. Crumpets extra.
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After London Or Wild England edition by Richard Jefferies Reference eBooks Reviews
Really good book, but the ending just felt incomplete.
Jeffries is the man. His writing is vibrant, vital and speaks to the soul of humanity.
After a slow start, this stories really warms up. The author's careful observations of nature in the first quarter of the book are a bit dragging, but also absolutely poetic and lovely. By the time the real action begins, you are completely immersed in the future world Jefferies has created.
An view of what London is like in the distant future. There is a certain love interest in the story that will surprise some when it is revealed. A tale of the exploits of a reclusive individual.
The ending was a bit abrupt and the character development was a bit stilted, but it was a fun ride. It was also interesting to see a 19th century interpretation of an apocalypse.
This is a low-key post-apocalyptic adventure that mixes a tad of science fiction with some good ol' medieval atmosphere. I was hooked by the second page as the author described in wonderful detail how nature reclaimed civilization, all because of an event never the book never explains. The second part of the book is an adventure story, and while it's not the most gripping and exciting tale, it is enjoyable and engaging and I was disappointed it was over when I reached the last page. It's the kind of book I want my son to read when he's older as it sparked my imagination. I hope it can spark his.
Richard Jefferies’s 1885 book, After London, is often described as a post-apocalyptic novel, but readers who approach this work with expectations of visionary science fiction are likely to be disappointed. The story is told by a third person narrator who exists presumably centuries in the future. At some point an ecological change took place, possibly the result of a traveling celestial body that approached too close to the Earth and thus affected the tides. England’s ports silted up, accompanied by a deviation in sea level. Though not a deadly catastrophe, this affected industry and trade, and therefore the British economy, so most of Britain’s inhabitants just packed up and moved away, leaving a small part of the population behind to carry on civilization. The land is still lush and green, but apparently agriculture isn’t enough to maintain a healthy society. Such is the woefully unimpressive and unrealistic apocalypse that opens the story.
Over several generations following this mass exodus, the abandoned land eventually begins to look a lot like England during medieval times. Victorian Brits need have no fear that their social hierarchy has been disrupted by the “end of the world.” The descendants of nobles are still nobles, the only people who can still read and write. The descendants of England’s indigent population, on the other hand, have devolved into Bushmen, who live in the forest and prey on travelers foolish enough to venture into their woods. Jefferies introduces us to Felix Aquila, the son of a Baron, who is destined to inherit his father’s title. Though of noble lineage, Felix’s family has fallen on hard times and suffers the condescension and derision of wealthier nobles. Despite his aristocratic pedigree, Felix chafes under the strictures of feudalism, and longs to set out on his own and determine his own course of life. He builds a dugout canoe and plans a solo voyage into the unknown, in hopes of finding adventure and fortune. So despite its post-apocalyptic premise, After London is essentially just another medieval coming-of-age story, like Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sir Nigel, though not nearly as good as either.
If you want to tell a story about life in a medieval society, why not just set your story in the Middle Ages? The whole futuristic angle is unnecessary. About 80% of the way through the book, there are two chapters that deal with some original, post-apocalyptic matters, but by that point I was bored beyond caring. The book proceeds at a painfully plodding pace. Jefferies was primarily known for his nature writing, and he spends an inordinate amount of time describing every creek and sylvan path. When Felix goes to see his girlfriend, for example, there’s two chapters devoted solely to his walk in the woods to get there. Though skilled at descriptive writing, Jefferies has no conception of how to create plot momentum or suspense. As Felix wanders aimlessly, the story feels random and unstructured. Felix is too whiny and sullen to be a satisfying hero, so every time Jefferies rains good fortune upon him the reader feels he’s undeserving. This culminates in a ridiculously optimistic ending that defies belief.
I enjoy reading early science fiction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I don’t expect such literature to compare with the fantastic visions of later authors. In fact, I enjoy that older books are grounded in the fundamentals of traditional storytelling. After London, however, is just too traditional, too familiar, and too dull. What little new ground it breaks is not worth the reader’s time and effort.
One hundred twenty-five years before the TV series "Life After People", there was Richard Jefferies and "After London".
Jefferies was a naturalist. His autobiography, "The Story of my Heart", has an almost mystical quality to it as he enthuses over nature and derides urbanization and industrialization. In "After London", he gives us a post-apocalyptic novel that speculates what might happen if suddenly the vast majority of the population disappeared. It is possibly the first of what later became known as "cozy catastrophes".
The novel is divided into two parts. The first part relates the catastrophe and its aftermath. In true cozy catastrophe fashion, the disaster itself is never really discussed. It simply happened. The narrator of the tale then goes on to describe the effect on the land that a radically reduced population would have.
One gets the feeling this is something Jefferies would very much like to have happen.
The second part of the novel is an adventure/coming-of-age story set in the now radically altered England. At one point, the hero stumbles onto the site of the buried ancient city of London. The miasma of pollution, with its deadly effects, is still very much in evidence many generations after the city's demise.
On the plus side, I found the story very interesting from an ecology and back-to-nature standpoint. Jefferies' speculation on how society reformed after the disaster seemed very plausible. On the negative side, I thought the book a bit ponderous and the ending abrupt.
Those who want their post-apocalyptic stories filled with zombies and violent action will need to look elsewhere. "After London" won't give you that. If you want a story of hope and possibility, along the lines of Stewart's cozy catastrophe "Earth Abides", where the survivors attempt to rebuild civilization, then "After London" may be your cup of tea. Crumpets extra.
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