A classic of scientific and mathematical fiction, Flatland is the story of a Square as he journeys through new dimensions. He experiences Spaceland (a universe with three dimensions), Lineland (a universe of one dimension), and Pointland ( a universe no dimensions). This work of literature looks at the world through a purely mathematical lens to help us better understand the concepts of dimension as well as the sociological implications of hierarchies. Finally, the Square dares to dream of a land with four dimensions, an incredible idea which gets him banished from Spaceland.
Edwin Abbott Abbott was educated at the City of London School and at St John's College, Cambridge, where he took the highest honors in classics, mathematics and theology, and became a fellow of his college. In particular, he was 1st Smith's prizeman in 1861. After holding masterships at King Edward's School, Birmingham, he succeeded G. F. Mortimer as headmaster of the City of London School in 1865 at the early age of twenty-six. Here he oversaw the education of future Prime Minister H. H. Asquith. He was Hulsean lecturer in 1876. He retired in 1889, and devoted himself to literary and theological pursuits. Dr. Abbott's liberal inclinations in theology were prominent both in his educational views and in his books. His Shakespearian Grammar (1870) is a permanent contribution to English philology. In 1885 he published a life of Francis Bacon. His theological writings include three anonymously published religious romances – Philochristus (1878), where he tried to raise interest in Gospels reading, Onesimus (1882), and Silanus the Christian(1908). His most popular work is Flatland, which he published in 1884.
