The Fixed Period

The Fixed Period (1882) is Trollope's satirical Dystopian novel dealing with euthanasia to solve the problem of the aged. Set in the Republic of Britannula, a fictional island near New Zealand in the year 1980, it's narrated by the country's president, Neverbend, who as his name implies, sticks to enforcing "The Law" even as aging citizens begin to resist it. Interestingly, Trollope himself was 67 when he wrote the novel, the exact age it prescribes mandatory retirement, and one year to prepare for death. [Cartoon portrait of Trollope by Frederick Waddy, 1872.]