Land Under England
By (Author) Joseph O'Neill
Orion Publishing Co
Gollancz
26th June 2018
28th June 2018
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
823.912
Paperback
304
Width 128mm, Height 198mm, Spine 26mm
267g
While searching for his missing father, Anthony Julian embarks on a terrifying journey into the Earth's interior. There he discovers a subterranean world, where descendants of the Roman Army suffer under a totalitarian regime in which individualism is completely obliterated by telepathic means. Refusing to join this rigidly controlled society, Anthony must fight to save his father and find a route to the surface - or perish.
First published in 1935, the genre-transcending political and psychological themes of Land Under England put it far ahead of its time.Land Under England is historically significant, eminently readable and belongs in any reasonably complete collection - Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review
Attains the heights of literary excellence - The Boston PhoenixWe are dazzled by the nightmare-like luxuriance of Mr O'Neill's imagination - New York TimesJoseph O'Neill (1878-1952)
Joseph O'Neill was an Irish educationist and author. He worked as the Permanent Secretary to the Department of Education, Irish Free State, between 1923 and 1944. Although not strictly an SF writer, O'Neill used SF instruments to make cultural and political points with great eloquence. Land Under England (1935), about an underground world where citizens are controlled by telepathy, is a satire on Hitlerian totalitarianism.