After London; or, Wild England

‘After London’ has the distinction of being a very early post-apocalyptic novel, written in 1885. This is rather the most interesting thing about it, as although some of the details are striking, the plot is very formulaic. The book begins with a lyrical evocation of England after a mysterious, ill-understood environmental disaster. Said disaster could very well be retconned as climate change upheaval, as it results in a changed sea level and a new, massive inland lake. After this disaster, the population is greatly reduced, for the very prosaic reason that everyone with enough wealth to leave has departed. This results in the return of a prelapsarian natural environment, largely consisting of forest. I very much enjoyed the account show more of the progress of brambles across the roads and saplings across the fields, the return of dogs, cows, and pigs to a predomestic state. Subsequently the book follows the aptly-named Felix, a very highly strung young man who leaves his home (and much more pragmatic sweetheart Aurora), setting out in a canoe to have adventures. His encounters suggest that parts of England have lapsed into Malory’s [b:Le Morte d' Arthur|17287999|Le Morte d' Arthur|Thomas Malory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403568138s/17287999.jpg|1361856], whilst others resemble the Old Testament.

For the time in which it was written, the book is deeply reactionary. Not only does it glorify an environment unspoiled by man, with lavish descriptions of the wildlife therein, but it vilifies the remains of civilisation. The London of the title is a poisonous wasteland, an area of pollution and death. Nothing lives there and people foolish enough to venture in are lucky to escape alive, as industrialisation has poisoned its air, soil, and water. Few structures or artifacts remain from this tainted past; even technologies of the Middle Ages have been forgotten. On the other hand, the plays of Sophocles have survived and the story includes a performance of Antigone. The author seems to yearn for simpler times, perhaps a return to some mythical Ancient Greek golden age. That said, the society depicted is a deeply flawed one, something that Felix unwisely cannot keep quiet about. There is a strong critique of feudalism to be found here, notably in the ironic fact that most poor people are slaves, yet use of the word slave is taboo.

As a novel, ‘After London’ doesn’t have a terrific amount to recommend it. As an early post-apocalyptic vision, it is interesting to compare with Mary Shelley’s [b:The Last Man|966835|The Last Man|Mary Shelley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392984325s/966835.jpg|835097]. And as an ode to radical rewilding, it certainly paints a delightfully vivid picture. show less

After London takes place several generations into the future, after a mysterious disaster has ripped through the heart of Victorian Britain, turning the Thames into a giant lake and London into a deadly swamp. With the upper and middle classes having fled the country for parts unknown, civilization and technology collapsed, leaving a new feudal order to come about, constantly under threat from invasion by the Welsh, the Irish, and the Scottish, all out for revenge. The first third of the novel is just a description of this postapocalyptic world, telling how animals and plants have been affected (Jefferies was a nature writer), and about the political and social setup, with marauding bands of gipsies and the sinister Bushmen lurking show more between cities for hapless travelers. It's well-thought-out, detailed world-building, the best I know of in the nineteenth century, almost Tolkienesque. There are so many fruitful avenues for stories suggested in just five chapters.

The last two thirds of the book are less successful, but still a decent read, concerning the adventures of an intellectual who tries to sail across the Lake at the heart of England and make his way in the world-- with very limited success. It's a little slow and incident-free at times, but depicts well England's fall back into barbarism and its consequences, proving more details of the setup of this world. It cuts off at a weird point, leaving you wondering if Felix will establish a new social order, and having scantly interacted with all the potential stories the first part suggests. It doesn't appear to be a book that's much read or much studied (this 1980 Oxford World's Classic is its most recent edition!), and that's a pity; there's a lot to like here. show less

It's really interesting comparing this to modern post-apocalyptic literature, particularly in the depiction of the post-apocalyptic world and in the things it things it concerns itself with. It's idyllic in a way, an England returned to its natural state—for the most part there is nothing to 'clean up' where in most of what I consider to be post-apocalyptic literature the world itself is destroyed and the survivors are shown dealing with that. This book concerns itself largely with the loss of knowledge, particularly as it concerns politics and warfare, alongside the little things, like fifty years without tea.

The darkest part was also my favourite: the journey into the heart of ravaged London, still toxic and completely show more unrecognisable. I liked the book (aside from the inevitable sexism and other prejudices of the time) and there were some particularly lovely insights and descriptions, but it would have been more to my taste if there had been more of that. show less

Mainly of interest to me for who it influenced: William Morris, who appreciated Jefferies' love of nature but didn't see why a post-civilization Medievalist agrarian society couldn't be a happy place if you just took away exploitation, systemic violence and oppression, and Jeff Vandermeer, who must have loved the creepy horrorscape of a destroyed London reverted to pestilent, corpse-filled swamp, since his Area X is an analogue, if on a much broader canvas.

After London is made up of two distinct parts. First is "The Relapse into Barbarism", which describes the decline of civilization, but more importantly the recovery of nature, after an unspecified disaster. This section draws heavily on Jefferies background as a nature writer, and is essentially a detailed thought experiment on what would happen to the English countryside without many men around. For a potentially dry topic, it is surprisingly readable - largely because Jefferies describes the reaction of each aspect or species plausibly, then moves on without bogging down in details. Normally, this kind of material would exist mainly as backdrop for the characters. Here, one gets the feeling that the second half of the book was written show more mainly as an excuse for this imagination of the environment.

The second part of the book "Wild England", is a more standard adventure story about a sullen and disaffected young noble and his search for a place in the world (one that will impress his beloved). The story is simple, and still relies heavily on descriptions of the environment as the hero travels around. But it is again well thought through, and the hero's emotions are as plausible and realistic as the scenery around him.

The book is a pleasant read, if not exciting. I would have considered giving it a higher mark, but for the fact that the story effectively stops mid-stream. We can imagine what happens next; it's not essential that we're told. But because there's no gradual letdown, it feels very abrupt - enough so that on reading an e-copy a couple of decades after the print version, I went looking on the internet to see whether I had somehow been shortchanged.

So, a fun, interesting read, but a little disappointing at the end. show less

This book was of interest to me because I read and collect post-apocalypse fiction. The first part of the book is a study of what has happened in nature as a result of the fall of mankind, and while some of it is interesting, it quickly becomes monotonous hearing about the three kinds of wild dogs, the three kinds of wild cats, the three kinds of wild pigs. The second part of the book, detailing the adventures of a young noble in what is left of civilization, has only the slightest connection to this setup--aside from a a few references to the ancients and a brief visit to what is left of London, it could be taking place in medieval England. Still it held my interest. My most serious criticism is that story reaches a certain point and show more simply stops there, for no reason I could see, with no resolution, nothing much learned, it doesn't even point towards anything. It's as if the author set it aside intending to pick it up later and never got around to it. show less

This novels portrays a well drawn and quite eerie depiction of a London and an England after some devastating apocalypse has transformed the landscape and driven away or killed most of the population, leaving survivors to set up small warring feudal communities or function as wandering bands of brigands or gypsies. The nature of the disaster is never made clear and no obvious single solution presents itself. The storyline against this backdrop concerns one man's struggle to find peace of mind in his place in this society, but was a little banal in places. Worth looking for, though (this was a Kindle edition).