Introduction

This book examines the distinctive strain of transatlantic utopianism found within the work of four writers—a group that it calls the “last utopians”—of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: Edward Bellamy, William Morris, Edward Carpenter, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Focusing on the legacy of Bellamy, Morris, Carpenter, Gilman, and their contemporary heirs, the book shows how utopian literature and social thought flourished in the United States and Great Britain from the mid-1880s until 1915. It also considers the distinctive elements that unite the utopianism of Bellamy, Morris, Carpenter, and Gilman, suggesting that their utopian visions are currently manifested in lived utopianism. Finally, the book explores contemporary everyday utopias that embrace the last utopians' central values—institutions, sites, and practices that are committed to political, sexual, and spiritual egalitarianism; that promote simplicity and sustainability; and that explore new forms of family and community.