ABSTRACT
Exploring the publication history of a major utopian novel of the late nineteenth century, this chapter studies the impact of Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward on socialist discourse across Western Europe. In so doing, it portrays the ambivalence of socialist party leaders who welcomed the enormous popularity of this genuinely American piece of fiction among European working-class readers while highlighting the supposedly manifold flaws of the novel. The chapter thus illustrates the tensions that existed between the socialist masses yearning for utopian visions and a skeptical leadership that adhered rigorously to the anti-utopian imperative that took shape in the “scientific” Marxist tradition.
