Erewhon, or, Over the range

In this satirical novel, Samuel Butler explores the contradictions and absurdities of Victorian society through the lens of a fictional country called Erewhon.

The story follows an unnamed narrator who, after working at a sheep station in New Zealand, discovers Erewhon, a land with bizarre and unsettling beliefs.

Here, crime is treated as a sickness, illness as a crime, and machines are outlawed due to fears of artificial intelligence.

The novel satirizes various aspects of Victorian society, including criminal punishment, religion, and technology, drawing parallels with works like 'Gulliver's Travels' and influencing later authors such as Huxley and Herbert.