Bellamy, Edward (bĕl`əmē), 1850–98, American author, b. Chicopee Falls (now part of Chicopee), Mass. After being admitted to the bar he tried his hand at journalism and contributed short stories of genuine charm to various magazines. These were later collected as The Blind Man's World and Other Stories (1898). His novels—The Duke of Stockbridge (1879), Dr. Heindenhoff's Process (1880), and Miss Ludington's Sister (1884)—were followed by Looking Backward, 2000–1887 (1888), which overshadowed his other work and brought him fame. This utopian romance pictured the world in the year 2000 under a system of state socialism. Much of the book's appeal lies in its unpretentious style and its vivid picture of the imagined society. The work sold over a million copies in the next few years and resulted in the formation of "Nationalist" clubs throughout the nation and the founding of the Nationalist monthly (1888–91). Bellamy himself founded and edited the New Nation (1891–94), a weekly. Equality, a sequel to Looking Backward, appeared in 1897.

Bibliography

See biography by S. E. Bowman (1958, repr. 1979); J. L. Thomas, Alternative America (1983); D. Patai, ed., Looking Backward, 1988–1888 (1988).

Bellamy, Edward

Bellamy

(credit: Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.)

(born March 26, 1850, Chicopee Falls, Mass., U.S.—died May 22, 1898, Chicopee Falls) U.S. writer. Bellamy first became aware of the plight of the urban poor at age 18 while studying in Germany. He engaged throughout his life in progressive causes and wrote several books reflecting his concerns, but he is known chiefly for his utopian novel Looking Backward (1888), which describes the U.S. in the year 2000 as an ideal socialist state featuring cooperation, brotherhood, and industry geared to human need. It sold more than a million copies; a sequel, Equality (1897), was less successful.

Bellamy, Edward (1850–98) writer; born in Chicopee Falls, Mass. He studied law, then turned to journalism, founding the Springfield (Mass.) Daily News in 1880. He also tried his hand at fiction, but he had become increasingly absorbed in contemporary social issues. In 1888 he published a utopian romance, Looking Backward: 2000–1887, and its million-copy sales enabled him to devote the ensuing years to refining his notions of state capitalism. The Nationalist Party was established to promote his ideas; he founded The New Nation (1891), a journal; and he further expounded his ideas in Equality (1897). He died prematurely of tuberculosis.