9 h 36 minAudiobook11 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if you returned to a hidden country and found its powerful church worshipping you?
In Samuel Butler’s satirical sequel to Erewhon, Higgs returns to the land he once escaped by balloon with Arowhena, the woman he loved. Now people worship him as the Sunchild. His own memories clash with a sacred story that gives others power.
Churchmen Hanky and Panky have turned that story into ranks, rituals and a steady income. The real Higgs threatens everything they guard. His half-Erewhonian son, George, brings young, open eyes to a country where comfort can matter more than evidence, and officials confuse their interests with the public good.
What you’ll discover
- A traveller becomes sacred Follow Higgs into the strange gap between an ordinary life and a powerful public myth.
- Two guardians of belief Meet Hanky and Panky, whose practical ambitions keep doctrine and church income closely linked.
- A son's open eyes See Erewhon through George, whose youth offers a fresh view of its settled customs.
- Truth against comfort Explore why institutions resist evidence when familiar beliefs serve them so well.
- Laughter with a target Enjoy Butler’s sharp comedy about faith, self-interest, and the human wish to leave customs alone.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy satire about religion, universities and public pretence, and who like a tale of fathers, sons and disguises told with dry wit and real feeling.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A son tells his father's strange story
- A disguised traveller meets two professors
- He learns he has become a god
- Sunch'ston and a town full of new customs
- Yram and George piece the puzzle together
- Hanky's trap in the new temple
- A son turns the tables on the professors
- What the satire says about belief and truth
- How the story is told and held together
Who’s who
- Higgs, the SunchildThe English traveller who once escaped Erewhon in a balloon and returns in disguise, grieving, to see what his legend has become.
- JohnHiggs's son, who tells the story from his father's notes and later travels to the pass himself to meet his half brother.
- George StrongThe young Head Ranger and Yram's eldest son, quick, kind and clever, who learns he is Higgs's child and protects him.
- YramThe Mayoress of Sunch'ston, who once loved Higgs and now rules the town with calm charm and a talent for managing everyone.
- Professor HankyA Bridgeford Professor of Worldly Wisdom, a clever cynic who preaches the Sunchild faith and wants Higgs silenced.
- Professor PankyHanky's colleague, a Professor of Unworldly Wisdom, who needs to believe his own lies and wears his clothes backwards.
- Mrs. HumdrumA stately old lady, the model of Erewhonian respectability, who helped Yram long ago and now helps settle the crisis.
- Dr. DownieA professor of Logomachy who never commits to a view, and whose caution makes him a useful peacemaker.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 9 h 36 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 11 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Erewhon Revisited Twenty Years Later in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Erewhon Revisited Twenty Years Later
by Samuel Butler · 1901
A traveller returns to a land that worships him as the Sunchild, and must sit through his own temple's dedication.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Erewhon Revisited Twenty Years Later is a satirical novel by Samuel Butler, published in 1901, the year before his death. It is the sequel to his first Erewhon, and it returns to the hidden country over the southern mountains with a sharper, funnier eye.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A son tells his father's strange story
The book opens with John, who explains that he is telling the story of his father's second visit to Erewhon. He first sketches what happened after the first book appeared in 1872. The public admired it while its author was unknown, and turned against him when he proved to be nobody in particular. A fund raised for him was closed within a week, and rumours spread that he had been drunk or deluded when he claimed to have found a hidden land.
John grows up poor, in a London alley. His father earns a living drawing pictures in coloured chalk on the pavement, and his mother, an Erewhonian woman, speaks only her own language at home. Then an uncle dies in Australia without a will, and the family becomes wealthy. John goes to a good school and then to Oxford, guided by a kindly solicitor named Mr. Cathie.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Erewhon Revisited Twenty Years Later
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Erewhon Revisited about?
It follows Higgs, the traveller from Erewhon, as he secretly returns twenty years later and finds himself worshipped as the Sunchild. A satire on religion and learning, it is also a story of a father and the son he never knew.
Do I need to read Erewhon first?
It helps, since this book refers to the first one, but the sequel explains its main events, so a new reader can follow the story without difficulty.
Who are Hanky and Panky?
They are Butler's comic names for two Bridgeford professors, Sukoh and Sukop in the original tongue. Hanky is a worldly cynic, and Panky is a man who has to believe his own lies.
The author
Samuel Butler
1835–1902 · English novelist and critic
Samuel Butler (1835–1902) was an English novelist and critic. He was born in Langar, Nottinghamshire, lived in New Zealand from 1859 to 1864, and then settled in London. He published Erewhon in 1872 and The Authoress of the Odyssey in 1897. The Way of All Flesh appeared after his death, in 1903.
More by Samuel Butler
All 4 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
