Meccania

Meccania: The Super-State
AuthorOwen Gregory
LanguageEnglish
GenreDystopian fiction
Speculative fiction
PublisherMethuen
Publication date1918
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pagesxviii + 298

Meccania: The Super-State is a dystopian novel by Owen Gregory, first published in 1918.[1]

Most of the book describes the fictional country of "Meccania," a nation in Central Europe with obvious resemblances to Germany:[2] Meccania is surrounded by "Francaria" (France), "Luniland" (Britain), "Lugrabia" (Austria) and Idiotica (Russia). Meccania is a place where dissenters are sent to mental hospitals and concentration camps. The state maintains a eugenic breeding program and commands its common citizens when to have children. All letters are censored, and all telephone conversations are monitored. All citizens wear the uniforms of their occupational classes. Among the very complex regulations of the Super-State are those regarding control of worker fatigue: if a given worker's calculated fatigue level is below average, he must work more hours until he is as tired as his compatriots.

The novel's frame story is set in the future (from the novel's perspective) year 1970. A young Chinese traveler named Ming Yuen-hwuy enters Meccania for a five-month stay. Ming's diary and notes describe his dreary and dehumanizing sojourn in a country where the militaristic government dominates social life. Meccania, a place of "perpetual propaganda...," presents the visitor with "an odd mixture of arrogance, xenophobia, over-punctiliousness, over-organization, chauvinism, and rigidity...."[3] Ming is constantly observed by official guides. Ming provokes his state minders when he tries to find a newspaper; he gets into more trouble when the personal record he is required to keep does not match the records of his guides with perfect exactness.

Ming also learns the history of Meccania — how "Bludiron" (Otto von Bismarck) organized the nation to resist the socialism of "Spotts" (a pun on the surname of Karl Marx).

References

  1. ^ Owen Gregory, Meccania: The Super-State, London, Methuen, 1918.
  2. ^ Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi, The Dictionary of Imaginary Places, expanded edition, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987; pp. 233-7.
  3. ^ Everett F. Bleiler with Richard Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years, Kent, OH, Kent State University Press, 1990; p. 301.


Stub icon

This article about a speculative fiction novel of the 1910s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page.

Stub icon

This article about a dystopian novel (or novels) is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page.

Content Disclaimer

Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.

  1. The information displayed on this website is sourced in part or in whole from Wikipedia and has been adapted for the purpose of restating it. We strive to provide accurate and relevant information, however:
  2. There is no guarantee of absolute accuracy. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative project that can be edited by anyone, so information is subject to change.
  3. It is not intended to constitute professional advice. The content displayed is for informational and educational purposes only. For important decisions (e.g., medical, legal, or financial), please consult a professional.
  4. Content copyright. Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). This means that content may be reused with appropriate attribution and shared under a similar license.
  5. Responsible use. Any risk arising from the use of information from this website is entirely the responsibility of the user.