The Iron Heel
by Jack London
The Iron Heel (1908) is considered one of the earliest novels of modern Dystopian Fiction, which would lead to works later known as Soft Science Fiction. Jack London, a socialist himself, portrays America under tyrannical rule. It is based on Avis Everhard's fictional "Everhard Manuscript" and was written by London as a woman's first person narrative, not a common writing style at the time. [Note that "philomath" (chapter V) is a Greek word meaning lover of learning.] The book's epigraph:
“At first, this Earth, a stage so gloomed with woe
You almost sicken at the shifting of the scenes.
And yet be patient. Our Playwright may show
In some fifth act what this Wild Drama means.”
Table of Contents
Chapter IV - Slaves of the Machine
Chapter VII - The Bishop's Vision
Chapter VIII - The Machine Breakers
Chapter IX - The Mathematics of a Dream
Chapter XI - The Great Adventure
Chapter XIII - The General Strike
Chapter XIV - The Beginning of the End
Chapter XVII - The Scarlet Livery
Chapter XVIII - In the Shadow of Sonoma
Chapter XXI - The Roaring Abysmal Beast
Chapter XXII - The Chicago Commune
Chapter XXIII - The People of the Abyss
Return to the Jack London library.