Utopia - Thomas More

You'll all have heard of this book - it's the one from which the term 'utopia' is derived - I certainly had, but didn't know what it was about until starting to read. It's incredibly cleverly written; More writes as himself, giving a narrative he's heard from an explorer, which allows him to distance himself from some of the ideas - prudent for a political figure in 1500s England (he was eventually beheaded, but for different reasons). Letters to and by a (real) friend, Peter Gilles, who apparently also knows the original narrator and was there at the time, are included at the start. It seems that some readers did fall for this. But there is a lot more to Utopia than the detail and realism of the background.

The word 'utopia' apparently translates to 'no place', and the story is related by 'Hythlodaeus' - 'distributor of nonsense'. While emphasising that the idea is purely imaginary, More gives his idea of how the world should function. A more positive view is taken than the satire of Swift in Gulliver's Travels, although the basis is similar - to visit a new country and describe the political, economic, religious and social structure. While some of More's views, for example on the role of women, wouldn't be accepted now, they may have been liberal for his time. I could go on to describe other features of Utopia (an almost communist lifestyle; religious freedom), but that would defeat the purpose of reading it. Many of the ideas wouldn't be considered unusual now, but regardless of this, and particularly in context, it is thought-provoking, and, at around 100 pages, won't take too much commitment to read. Remember that this is the starting point for utopian literature!

Try to find a good translation (unless you feel inclined to try the original) - I read the 1965 Penguin Classics edition, which translates most of the Latin names; it has an interesting introduction, notes, and a glossary of names referring back to the original Latin versions and their meanings.