The story in one page
Julian West, a wealthy Bostonian plagued by the labor strikes of 1887, retreats to a subterranean bed for a hypnotically induced nap. He wakes up in the year 2000, finding his city transformed into a peaceful technocracy. Private capital has vanished, replaced by a 'Great Trust' where every citizen serves in an industrial army from ages twenty-one to forty-five. Guided by Dr. Leete, West discovers a world of credit cards, piped-in music, and public kitchens. His journey through this streamlined society challenges his former beliefs about poverty and class, culminating in a romance that bridges two centuries and a nightmare that tests his new reality.
Who's who
- Julian West
An 1887 aristocrat who survives a century-long slumber in a vault.
- Dr. Leete
The 21st-century physician and host who explains the new social order.
- Edith Leete
The doctor's daughter and West's romantic link to his lost past.
- The Great Trust
The single national syndicate that manages all American industry and commerce.
What it's really about
- Cooperation
- Replacing wasteful competition with organized national industry.
- Equality
- Abolishing class distinctions through equal distribution of national wealth.
Why it's memorable
- The 'credit card' system replacing physical cash for all citizens.
- Music broadcast directly into homes via telephone wires at any hour.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
West dreams he has returned to the misery of 1887, only to wake in 2000 with a profound sense of survivor's guilt, finally finding peace and forgiveness in the arms of Edith Leete.
For your book club
- The transition from private enterprise to a state-run industrial army.
- The psychological impact of losing one's entire era and identity overnight.