Publisher's Synopsis
Not only the multitude which has read with uncommon interest and sympathy Mr. Bellamy's phenomenal "Looking Backward," but all who enjoy good stories well told will welcome this new book containing fifteen stories, now first gathered in a volume. They are thoroughly interesting, and they have in large measure the humane imagination and the eager purpose of improving social conditions which distinguishes all of Mr. Bellamy's writings.
-Book Reviews [1898]
The remarkable book, "Looking Backward," brought Bellamy into notice, a few years ago, and his power as a writer was fully recognized. This volume will no doubt be read with interest, especially by those who were attracted by his other works. A prefatory sketch by William D. Howells begins the book, in which Bellamy's character and literary labors are critically reviewed.
The stories are not of uniform quality. Some of them, including "The Blindman's World," "The Old Folks' Party," and "Two Days' Solitary Imprisonment," carry a distinct reminder of Hawthorne's work, and there are several others whose psychological quality is of an unusual sort.
-Friends' Intelligencer and Journal, Volume 55 [1898]
