The Land of the Future: British Accounts of the USA at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century

This article examines the ways in which British travelers to the USA at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries articulated their different perceptions of a nation which was emerging as a major imperial competitor. Characteristically these responses showed an ambivalent te...

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Main Author:	David Seed
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	European Association for American Studies 2016-08-01
Series:	European Journal of American Studies
Subjects:	Edward Bulwer-Lytton H.G. Wells Rudyard Kipling speculative fiction travel writing W.T. Stead
Online Access:	http://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11536

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spelling	doaj-0d0812c810ad408f9ed5357341f6a5b82020-11-25T01:30:09ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362016-08-0111210.4000/ejas.11536The Land of the Future: British Accounts of the USA at the Turn of the Nineteenth CenturyDavid SeedThis article examines the ways in which British travelers to the USA at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries articulated their different perceptions of a nation which was emerging as a major imperial competitor. Characteristically these responses showed an ambivalent tension between respect for the growing commercial energy of the USA and a suspicion that it was posing an increasing threat to British national self-perception. Works examined here include those which attempt to yoke together the two nations in a common “Anglo-Saxon” destiny. The essay analyzes the expressive means used by writers to depict the USA as a culture of the future. The discussion includes famous figures like Rudyard Kipling and H.G. Wells, but also covers a range of turn-of-the-century speculative writers like the journalist W.T. Stead.http://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11536Edward Bulwer-LyttonH.G. WellsRudyard Kiplingspeculative fictiontravel writingW.T. Stead
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	David Seed
spellingShingle	David Seed The Land of the Future: British Accounts of the USA at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century European Journal of American Studies Edward Bulwer-Lytton H.G. Wells Rudyard Kipling speculative fiction travel writing W.T. Stead
author_facet	David Seed
author_sort	David Seed
title	The Land of the Future: British Accounts of the USA at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century
title_short	The Land of the Future: British Accounts of the USA at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century
title_full	The Land of the Future: British Accounts of the USA at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century
title_fullStr	The Land of the Future: British Accounts of the USA at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century
title_full_unstemmed	The Land of the Future: British Accounts of the USA at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century
title_sort	land of the future: british accounts of the usa at the turn of the nineteenth century
publisher	European Association for American Studies
series	European Journal of American Studies
issn	1991-9336
publishDate	2016-08-01
description	This article examines the ways in which British travelers to the USA at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries articulated their different perceptions of a nation which was emerging as a major imperial competitor. Characteristically these responses showed an ambivalent tension between respect for the growing commercial energy of the USA and a suspicion that it was posing an increasing threat to British national self-perception. Works examined here include those which attempt to yoke together the two nations in a common “Anglo-Saxon” destiny. The essay analyzes the expressive means used by writers to depict the USA as a culture of the future. The discussion includes famous figures like Rudyard Kipling and H.G. Wells, but also covers a range of turn-of-the-century speculative writers like the journalist W.T. Stead.
topic	Edward Bulwer-Lytton H.G. Wells Rudyard Kipling speculative fiction travel writing W.T. Stead
url	http://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11536
work_keys_str_mv	AT davidseed thelandofthefuturebritishaccountsoftheusaattheturnofthenineteenthcentury AT davidseed landofthefuturebritishaccountsoftheusaattheturnofthenineteenthcentury
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The Land of the Future: British Accounts of the USA at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century

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