The Mummy!

The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century was first published in 1827, with a second edition published in 1828 that made substantial changes. Jane C. Loudon, orphaned at age seventeen, wrote it as a means to an income. It was published anonymously, only later being publicly attributed to her.

The Mummy! is the first work of science fiction to feature a resurrected mummy. It was written in an era defined by Egyptomania spurred by Napoleon’s recent invasion of Egypt. The future society that Loudon imagines juxtaposes traditional 19th century British society with various technological advances, some conceptually familiar to a 21st century reader, and others both ambitious and fantastical. The modern reader will still find some of Louden’s imagined advancements remarkably forward-looking, like criminal trials argued by automaton lawyers that can speak every language, painting a picture of a future that still feels like science fiction two centuries later.

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