In 1889 retired premier Sir Julius Vogel published the novel Anno Domini 2000, or, woman’s destiny. More than a century later New Zealanders took an interest in Vogel’s vision of a female-dominated British Empire and of futuristic ‘air cruisers’, but Vogel’s first readers may have been equally intrigued by his treatment of imperial federation and imperial preference.
With lines such as villainous Lord Reginald’s ‘I have a clergyman in the cabin yonder. Marry me at once, and your friends shall come on board and congratulate you as Lady Paramatta’, it is a leaden effort. Nevertheless, New Zealand science fiction, fantasy and horror writers compete annually for the Sir Julius Vogel Award, a prize honouring Vogel and his pioneering science-fiction contribution.
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Private collection, Nancy Swarbrick
Reference:
Sir Julius Vogel, Anno Domini 2000, or, Woman’s destiny. London: Hutchinson, 1889.
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