ABSTRACT
When the Rational Society set up its own official community at Queenwood or Tytherly in Hampshire in 1839, it seemed that Robert Owen’s promised “New Moral World” was now close at hand. This glowing account of the community’s early days remains in line with orthodox Owenism and its insistence on large-scale communities funded through a system of shares, with the help of wealthy, upper- and middle-class backers. That it was published in the New Moral World, the movement’s official newspaper, and penned by its editor, George Fleming, adds to the propagandist feel of the piece. The aim was undoubtedly to garner support around a project which had failed to receive unanimous approbation within the various Owenite branches from the onset, due to concerns regarding expenses and undemocratic modes of governance – a range of grievances which would later prove fatal for Owenism at large. In 1838, George Fleming was appointed editor of the New Moral World.
