The Question Mark
A forgotten voice of science fiction returns to print
In 1926 Muriel Jaeger, dissatisfied with the Utopian visions of H G Wells and Edward Bellamy, set out to explore 'The Question Mark' of what a future society might look like if human nature were properly represented.
So, disgruntled London office worker Guy Martin is pitched 200 years into the future, where he encounters a seemingly ideal society in which each citizen has the luxury of every kind of freedom. But as Guy adjusts to the new world, the fractures of this supposed Utopia begin to show through, and it seems as if the inhabitants of this society might be just as susceptible to the promises of false messiahs as those of the twentieth century.
Preceding the publication of Huxley's Brave New World by 5 years, The Question Mark is a significant cornerstone in the foundation of the Dystopia genre, and an impressive and unjustly neglected work of literary science fiction. This edition brings the novel back into print for the first time since its original publication.
First published in 1926 now release as part of the British Library Science Fiction Classics series
Muriel Jaeger
Muriel Jaeger, 1892–1969, was a British author who wrote early novels of science fiction as well as plays and non-fiction, she was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire and won a scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford in 1912 graduating in 1916.
At Oxford, Jaeger belonged to a society of women writers that included Winifred Holtby and her close friend Dorothy L. Sayers, her nickname in college was James, or Jim, or even Jimmy.
British Library Science Fiction Classics
British Library Science Fiction Classics consists of 14 total books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
