Caesar's Column by Ignatius Donnelly is a foundational work of American dystopian science fiction, published in 1890 under the pseudonym Edmund Boisgilbert. The novel is set in 1988 and is presented as a manuscript discovered by the narrator, a young man from the Swiss Alps named Gabriel Welstein, who travels to New York City. He is immediately stunned by the technological marvels of this future world, including airships and advanced communications. However, he soon discovers a society rotten to its core, defined by a grotesque gap between a small, decadent oligarchy of plutocrats and a vast, brutally oppressed proletariat. The plot revolves around Gabriel's involvement with a secret revolutionary society, the Brotherhood of Destruction, led by the charismatic and ruthless Caesar Lomellini, which is planning a global uprising against the ruling class. Donnelly, a Populist politician, uses the novel as a fierce polemic against the unchecked capitalism and social injustices of the Gilded Age, projecting them into a terrifying future. The revolution, when it comes, is not a triumphant liberation but a descent into utter barbarism, resulting in the near-total destruction of civilization. The book's title refers to the gruesome monument the victorious rebels build: a pyramid of concrete poured over the corpses of their enemies. A bleak warning about the potential consequences of class warfare and societal neglect, Caesar's Column is a provocative and politically charged novel that remains a significant artifact of American political thought.

Table of Contents:

• Caesar's Column. Part 1

• Caesar's Column. Part 2

• Caesar's Column. Part 3

• Caesar's Column. Part 4

• Caesar's Column. Part 5