Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Reviews
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1966
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1967
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1968
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1968
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1968
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1969
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1969
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1969
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1970
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1970
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1971
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1971
- The Village Voice, September 9, 1971
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1971
- College English, 33:3, December 1971
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1972
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1973
- Village Voice, June 16, 1973
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1973
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1974
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1975
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1975
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1975
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1976
- Frontiers, III:3, fall, 1978
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1979
- “Book World,” The Washington Post, April 1, 1979
- “Book World,” The Washington Post, May 9, 1979
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1979
- The Feminist Review, #5 [in The New Women's Times, 5:14, July 16–19, 1979]
- Frontiers, IV:1, 1979
- Frontiers, IV: 2, 1979
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1979
- “Book World,” The Washington Post, January 24, 1980
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1980
- Sinister Wisdom, 12, winter 1980
- Frontiers, V:3, 1981
- “Book World,” The Washington Post, May 10, 1981
- Essays
- Letters
- Index of Books and Authors Reviewed
College English, 33:3, December 1971
from Reviews
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Reviews
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1966
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1967
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1968
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1968
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1968
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1969
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1969
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1969
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1970
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1970
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1971
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1971
- The Village Voice, September 9, 1971
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1971
- College English, 33:3, December 1971
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1972
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1973
- Village Voice, June 16, 1973
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1973
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1974
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1975
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1975
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1975
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1976
- Frontiers, III:3, fall, 1978
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1979
- “Book World,” The Washington Post, April 1, 1979
- “Book World,” The Washington Post, May 9, 1979
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1979
- The Feminist Review, #5 [in The New Women's Times, 5:14, July 16–19, 1979]
- Frontiers, IV:1, 1979
- Frontiers, IV: 2, 1979
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1979
- “Book World,” The Washington Post, January 24, 1980
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1980
- Sinister Wisdom, 12, winter 1980
- Frontiers, V:3, 1981
- “Book World,” The Washington Post, May 10, 1981
- Essays
- Letters
- Index of Books and Authors Reviewed
Summary
The Shape of Utopia: Studies in a Literary Genre. Robert C. Elliott (University of Chicago Press, 1970, 158pp., $6.50). Into the Unknown: The Evolution of Science Fiction from Francis Godwin to H. G. Wells. Robert M. Philmus (University of California Press, 1970, 174pp., $6.95)
Science fiction is receiving more academic attention than it used to, a species of kindness that may turn out to be the equivalent of being nibbled to death by ducks. For reasons nobody seems to understand, voyages to the moon fascinate academicians, as does anything written before 1800, or satire, or Utopian fiction – in short, anything that avoids the fecundity and speculative wildness of twentieth-century science fiction. It is probably a question of what's manageable, but unfortunately voyages to the moon tend to be the oldest (often the dullest) kind of science fiction, and Utopian romances are not only secondary in the contemporary oeuvre, they are relatively unimportant.
Robert C. Elliott's The Shape of Utopia is a scattered collection of pleasant, modest, clearly written essays, none of which treats its subject with any complexity. There is much in the book that is just, much that turns into truism if you look at it twice, and not really enough to tie the essays together into one volume. Much is stated without being explored or fully described; much is mentioned or proposed without being done. For example, Elliott twice brings up a rather important topic – what's the relation of the teller of these tales to the author, of More to “More” (in More's Utopia), or Coverdale to Hawthorne (Blithedale Romance)? What did More think of communism, for example? One must, says Elliott, avoid “a priori judgments and listen … to the voices as they speak”; but if one does, he concludes:
I think it very doubtful that we can ever know what he, in his many conflicting roles of philosopher, moralist, religious polemicist, man of great affairs – what this man “really” believed about communism. Of Thomas More, author of Utopia, we can speak with confidence. The idea attracted him strongly … Utopia argues for the ideal of communism by the best test available: More has given to Raphael Hythloday all the good lines. Thus the shape of Utopia is finished off, enigmatically but firmly … (pp. 47f)
But in the middle of this, the relation of “More” to More gets lost.
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- The Country You Have Never SeenEssays and Reviews, pp. 68 - 73Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 2007