After London (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Dystopian ClassicBy Richard Jefferies
Length9h 49m
About this audiobook
Richard Jefferies's After London (1885) imagines England long after an unnamed catastrophe has emptied the metropolis and returned the country to forest, marsh, and feudal violence. The first movement is a visionary natural history of ruins: London becomes a poisonous inland lake, roads vanish beneath vegetation, and civilization is read through ecological succession. The second follows Felix Aquila, an ambitious youth in a fragmented, quasi-medieval society, blending romance, adventure, and speculative anthropology. Its grave, sensuous prose places it among the earliest post-apocalyptic fictions, while retaining the precision of Victorian nature writing. Jefferies, born in rural Wiltshire in 1848, was celebrated for essays that observed fields, weather, animals, and agricultural labor with unusual intimacy. His lifelong attention to the countryside, his skepticism toward industrial modernity, and the urgency imposed by chronic illness all inform this strange future history. In After London, catastrophe becomes less a spectacle than a means of measuring human institutions against the slower authority of landscape. This book is recommended for readers interested in ecological fiction, early science fiction, Victorian prose, and the origins of post-apocalyptic imagination. Those who admire speculative worlds grounded in natural observation will find it haunting, intellectually suggestive, and surprisingly modern.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreScience Fiction, Dystopia
Length9 hrs 49 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJul 13, 2018
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
22Chapter xi Aurora
2Introduction
23Chapter xii Night in the Forest
3Synopsis
24Chapter xiii Sailing Away
4Historical Context
25Chapter xiv The Straits
5Part i The Relapse into Barbarism
26Chapter xv Sailing Onwards
Show all chaptersShow less
6Chapter i The Great Forest
27Chapter xvi The City
7Chapter ii Wild Animals
28Chapter xvii The Camp
8Chapter iii Men of the Woods
29Chapter xviii The King’s Levy
9Chapter iv The Invaders
30Chapter xix Fighting
10Chapter v The Lake
31Chapter xx In Danger
11Part ii Wild England
32Chapter xxi A Voyage
12Chapter i Sir Felix
33Chapter xxii Discoveries
13Chapter ii The House of Aquila
34Chapter xxiii Strange Things
14Chapter iii The Stockade
35Chapter xxiv Fiery Vapours
15Chapter iv The Canoe
36Chapter xxv The Shepherds
16Chapter v Baron Aquila
37Chapter xxvi Bow and Arrow
17Chapter vi The Forest Track
38Chapter xxvii Surprised
18Chapter vii The Forest Track Continued
39Chapter xxviii For Aurora
19Chapter viii Thyma Castle
40Analysis
20Chapter ix Superstitions
41Reflection
21Chapter x The Feast
42Memorable Quotes
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