5 h 55 minAudiobook7 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 a peaceful world beneath our feet holds a power that makes humanity seem weak?
In Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s The Coming Race, an unnamed young American follows a passage below a mine into a hidden civilisation. Roads, lamps and grand buildings stretch beneath a steady glow. His hosts are taller, stronger and longer lived than humans. They also command vril, a mysterious energy controlled through will and training.
As the narrator learns their language and customs, wonder gives way to questions. This society has no kings and no great quarrels, but what does its peace cost? Women are stronger than men and lead the way in courtship. Through his curious, modest visitor, Bulwer-Lytton turns an underground journey into a satire of Victorian life and ideas about progress.
What you’ll discover
- A world below sunlight Step into a lit underground land where familiar roads lead into an unfamiliar way of life.
- The mystery of vril Explore a universal force that places extraordinary power in the hands of this hidden people.
- Courtship on different terms Meet women whose strength and initiative challenge the narrator’s expectations of love.
- Words that shape thought Follow the visitor’s language lessons and consider how speech reflects a society’s ideas.
- The cost of perfection Look beyond a peaceful surface to question what progress means and what it demands.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like early science fiction, Victorian satire and imagined societies, and who enjoy ideas more than action. If you want fast plots and rounded characters, you may find it slow and talky.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A mine shaft opens onto another world
- A lit land below the earth
- Vril, the force that runs everything
- A peaceful society with no struggle
- Strange customs, women and the question of love
- Learning the language and the limits of the guest
- What the story says about progress
- How the tale is told
Who’s who
- The narratorA young American traveller who tells the story, curious and modest, who finds himself a guest among a people far stronger than his own.
- The engineerA mining engineer and friend of the narrator who leads the way into the chasm and starts the strange adventure.
- The first underground hostA tall, calm inhabitant of the hidden land who finds the narrator and takes him into the society below.
- The young woman of the houseA curious and kind daughter of the family who shelters the narrator, teaches him their ways and takes a growing interest in him.
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- Audiobook
- 5 h 55 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- 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.
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The Coming Race
by Edward Bulwer-Lytton· 1871
An American finds an underground society with a dangerous source of energy.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 8
A mine shaft opens onto another world
The narrator is a young traveller from the United States. He tells us he is writing for readers after his own time, and he keeps his name and some details hidden. He visits a great mine, guided by a friendly engineer who is an old acquaintance.
The engineer has found a chasm that leads far below the working galleries. Curious, the two men climb down by rope to explore it. The engineer goes first, and the narrator follows in a spirit of adventure.
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The author
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
1803–1873 · English novelist and politician
Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873) was a British novelist, playwright and politician. He was born in London and lived at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire. His novels include Paul Clifford (1830), The Last Days of Pompeii (1834), Zanoni (1842) and The Coming Race (1871). He served in Parliament and died in Torquay.
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What is The Coming Race about?
It follows an American who explores a passage below a mine and discovers an underground civilisation. Its people use an energy called vril, live in peace and look down on surface humans, and the book weighs the cost of such a perfect society.
What is vril in The Coming Race?
Vril is a fictional universal energy that the underground people control with their will. They use it for light, machines, healing and as a weapon so powerful that it has made war between them nearly impossible.
When was The Coming Race written?
It was first published in 1871, without the author's name on the title page. Bulwer-Lytton was already a well known novelist, and the book is an early example of science fiction and utopian satire.
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