Utopia Britannica

If you thought that ours was the first generation to try to change the world then think again. This archaeology of dreams explores every corner of these islands detailing over 500 utopian experiments in a comprehensive historical gazetteer and telling the stories of our utopian ancestors from early Christian Sects to the foundation of the welfare state ... less a catalogue of broken dreams, more a rough guide to a utopian future.

The book is divided into five historical threads covering different types of utopian community.
Thread 1 ... Dissenters’ Paradise: Christian Sects from the 15th to the 20th century
Thread 2 ... Islands of Socialism: Early 19th century Socialist Experiments
Thread 3 ... Artistic Visionaries: Artists’ Colonies from Coleridge to Peake.
Thread 4 ... The Old New Age: Mysticism, Myth and Organic Farming the first time round.
Thread 5 ... Utopia for Everyone: From the State of Welfare to the Welfare State

A comprehensive historical gazetteer section contains 550 entries and details of a number of small museums and utopian sites open to visitors. The book also includes guest articles by Peter Marshall, Dennis Hardy, Joy Thacker and Colin Ward ... all specialist writers in the field of Utopian Studies.

“... armed with this guide, trips around these complex isles will never be the same again.”
Dennis Hardy, author of Alternative Communities in 19th Century England

£16.50

Chris Coates

312pp paperback, b&w illus

ISBN 0951494589