‎(BRAMAH, ERNEST).‎
‎What Might Have Been. The Story of a Social War. - [DYSTOPIAN MASTERPIECE GIVING A CONSIDERABLY ACCURATE PREDICTION OF THE RISE OF FASCISM]‎

‎London, 1907. Original brown full cloth with yellow decorations to spine and front board and gilt title to spine. Boards slightly warped. First and last two leaves brownspotted, otherwise nice and clean. Inner front hinge a bit weak.‎

Reference : 60984

‎The exceedingly scarce first edition of “this lost landmark in British speculative fiction. This satirical speculative novel of political resistance is better known in its abridged form as “The Secret of the League” (1909). It mixes science fiction, social realism and office espionage, and accurately predicted the invention of the fax machine and the ascendancy of Labour politics.” (Handheld Science Fiction Classics) The work originally appeared, as it is here, in 1907, after which it appeared in abridged form under a different title in 1909. It would take 90 years for the landmark dystopian masterpiece to become available again at its original length, with its 7000 words restored, namely with the 2017-edition in the Handheld Science Fiction Classics Series. This seminal anti-socialist dystopia is generally acknowledged as having been a source of inspiration for Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. Orwell credited “What might have Been” with giving a considerably accurate prediction of the rise of Fascism. “[What might have Been] [a]bounds in humor and wit, especially in the early chapters. Bramah’s condemnation of the power of the press to corrupt and mislead is a pertinent today as it was in 1907” (Times Literary Supplement). “This satirical speculative novel of political resistance is better known in its abridged form as The Secret of the League (1909). It mixes science fiction, social realism and office espionage, and accurately predicted the invention of the fax machine and the ascendancy of Labour politics. What Might Have Been is a political thriller, with a nail-biting Buchanesque car chase, a sea battle that C S Forester could have written, and dramatic rescue missions in the air. The flying machines are both delightful and dramatic.” ‎