Land under England

by Joseph O'Neill

1981 1st Overlook Press Thus

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Fantasy, Literature, Horror, Irish Literature

298 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Joseph^^O'Neill
There is more than one author with this name on Goodreads.

Joseph O'Neill was an Irish novelist. O'Neill was born in Tuam, in the Aran Islands, County Galway, Ireland, in 1886 (or 1878). He became a school inspector and subsequently Secretary of the Department of Education in the newly formed Irish Free State.

He wrote five novels, of which the best-known was Land Under England, a science-fiction account of a totalitarian society ruled by telepathic mind control, cited by Karl Edward Wagner as one of the thirteen best science-fiction horror novels. His other novels include the time-travel novel Wind From the North and the future-war story Day of Wrath. He died in 1953.

He was the husband of Mary Devenport O'Neill, poet and friend of W.B. Yeats, who consulted her when writing 'A Vision'. Devenport O'Neill was an important writer in her own right, whose work warrants further study.

Reviews

[Ubik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Im not the best reviewer in the whole world, and in fact, especially since (as of this moment) Im the *only* reviewer of this book, its kinda hard for me to say in words what I felt about this wonderful novel.

What I can say is: Its in my top three of all time and its a crying shame that most people dont even know that it exists. I found it quite by accident too. Most of the time I carefully research each and every potential read that comes my way. This, was as a result of a friend of mine doing the driving that day and taking *forever* perusing the non-fiction section of our library when I literally stumbled upong this. the cover lured me in (The Overlook Press edition) and it had just enough to make me want to read it.

The main character comes from a long line of men who, at some point in their lives inexplicably needs to go to this underground place (aka: some secret passage in the UK off of Hadrian's Wall). His dad, having just come back from the war (WWI), returns a different man -- complacent and antsy. Well, one day, he goes out searching for just the right place by "the wall" and never returns. His son (our narrator) who thinks the world of his dad and wants to see what its all about decides to go and find him.

So, after a little experimenting, he finds "the spot" and ventures undergound encountering a few adventures on his way to bring his father back. What he eventually comes upon is a society based upon the ancient Roman culture (they speak fluent Latin -- when they speak) which communicates telepathically. Their lifestyle is perfect...or is it? Our narrator (he has a name, but I cant for the life of me remember it) believes that no matter how imperfect our life is "above-ground", we still have our individuality and a sense of self. And so he begins by trying to "talk" sense into the society, but after realizing that there is no convincing them otherwise, decides he must find his father by any means necessary and escape this awful world. So begins his adventures...

[Wreade1872 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was really something. I was expecting 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' but instead got a dystopian story in the vain of the 'Time Machine' (but much better).

A really nice original dystopia and deep psychological examination of how it came to be. This is when the book is at its best. The more our protagonist begins to understand this lost civilization the more interesting it becomes. For a brief period its a truly great novel before dropping slightly back to just really, really good :) .

Unfortunately the author isn't great at descriptive writing, combined with the bizarreness of the location this meant i had a hard time picturing the story at times. Luckily this is mostly only an issue at the start and end of the book as the dystopian elements don't really require the same sort of visuals. In fact much of the story relies on the lack of any visuals in this underground world.

As i said one of the times i would have liked a more descriptive style is at the end and this is also when the novel takes a hard left turn. The ideas it raises are much different from the dystopian elements used before and it almost feels like you've wandered into a different story, although not a bad story, its just a bit jarring. I also felt the ending used a bit too much writing as the author tried for a really dramatic climax.

In any case is you like things like The Time Machine, A Crystal Age, Herland, Erewhon or similar fare, this is an excellent read, it also has a certain Kafka-esque quality at times.

A deeply interesting dystopia in the trappings of a Hollow-Earth adventure novel.

Made available by the Merril Collection.

[Marko Vasić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite laborious book. Multi-layered. Profound. Exquisitely developed idea and psychological profile of the main protagonist Anthony, which is narrator withal. Everything that I’ve expected to encounter in Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet and thither didn’t find even in traces, hither waited me serenely. Even Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Wells’ The Time Machine weren’t such abundant with details and such profoundly developed as “Land Under England” is.

On the one hand, the book is quite a gem of fantasy literature genre, and on the other hand is sheer allegorical reflection of human’s interior state of soul in the moments when one tries to cope both with himself and the surrounding which treats him as one more pawn which ought to be immersed into the mass, or, as O’Neil declares – to be absorbed. Anthony dwelled entire his life adjacent the Roman Wall. His father was infatuated with all the legends regarding the Wall and deeply believed that somewhere along the Wall exists a crevice – a portal to the entrails of the Earth, to the Land Under England which inhabitants are the descendants of the Romans who erected the Wall back in ancient days. He has changed after his return from The Great War, became taciturn, and isolated. Yet, his urge to descend under England became even more intensive. Often he would roam along the Wall for many hours. Until once he didn’t return home.

Soon after, Anthony sneaked out during the night, with a rucksack full of utensils and began his pursuit for his father. From that site on, allegorical elements begin to entangle with both realistic and fantastic. Thus I consider this book a sheer homage to PTSP, for the narrative atmosphere is quite similar to its manifestations – anxiety, which constantly lurks within the depths of the unconscious and sometimes emerges into the conscious, gripping the “host” as with lasso, driving him to avoid the company, to deal with constant flashbacks and to become hyper alert. All these manifestations O’Neil enclosed within his novel. Anthony eventually discovered the clandestine crevice within the Wall and began with his katabasis. O’Neil’s underworld is quite interestingly imagined – it is illuminated with phosphorescent spheres, greenery covers the parts nigh the opening in the Wall while deeper into the entrails of Earth grow unpigmented fungi, which are the only food.

Even the inhabitants are depicted as the “demons” of PTSD – some resemble the huge spiders with the heads of the mantis while their „vast, unbelievably hideous bodies are stuck up on legs like stilts nearly three feet high. The head seemed to be almost as big as the body. Trailing cords hung from a mouth like the mouth of a huge gurnard.” Instead forelegs, a lasso-like formations are present, with which they catch their prey (a sheer allusion how the anxiety grabs its victim) – everything astray down there from the world above or the other underworld creatures which resemble enormous, quite edible (Anthony will soon find out that) slugs. Wandering throughout that dreary landscape, Anthony will suddenly reach an underground stream, and a ship which resembled a Roman.

Soon, he will perceive that was right, for two men, dressed like Roman soldiers, but quite numb and mesmerised in face, will reach and take him to the ship. There will he encounter with the Master of Knowledge, whom will he reveal his reason of this descent – to find his father and take him home. After that conversation, Anthony will comprehend that something with those “Romans” is awry and their behaviour is similar to robots, or automatons, as Anthony will name them. Their mind is vacant and their thoughts are subdued to the Master which controls them (another allusion on ruinous effects of the society to an individual) and determines their needs, while they are “mere monsters of concentration, without pity or love or the knowledge that can come only from these things.” He will be taught that the person he considers his father is no more – he is dead and absorbed, which will soon happen to himself. Nevertheless, Anthony’s mind is fresh and his will adamant, thus he will soon discover with which he ought to deal with: “Suddenly I understood. This hypnotic calm was the result of the most profound form of hysteria, a hysteria so deep and compelling that it had drowned the personality. This thing that was invading me and oppressing me, compelling me to conform to it—this force that was emanating from the group—was a wave of feeling that was welling up from depths of fear; the panic, not of an individual, but of a whole race, a permanent dread that had seized the depths of its life. It was through this that rulers, driven mad by it themselves, had been able to hypnotise a nation. Now it was beating on me, calling upon that hidden fear that lies in the depths of the mind of every man, and of which most men, happily, never become aware. It was calling this nameless dread from the depths of my own mind. It was a mass-agony that was encompassing me, engulfing me, drowning my personality in its waves.” Further parts of the novel will be marked with Anthony’s frantically copes both with himself and those automatons which will try to subdue him, but unsuccessfully. When they realise that, Anthony will be ostracised from their community, as well as modern society does with the individuals who disobey the stereotypes.

From that moment on, Anthony will be released and free to return to the surface, yet without his father, for he belongs to them. This uneasy cognition will follow the dreary returning through the layers of this underworld, on which will Anthony became aware that he does not roam alone – a person which he couldn’t discern in that gloom and from which he constantly flees followed him – a mere reflection of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. He will eventually realise, yet too late, that the person which followed him was his altered father which dared to come after him, and saved him from the assault of those spider-like creatures, but payed that venture with his own life. Anthony’s katabasis ended with quite perturbed cognition that not every urge and wish end up merrily and that the struggles with oneself are sometimes the most difficult, as man fails to cope with the demons that pursue him. As Aeneas end up on Elysian fields after his traverse through Tartar, thus Anthony, weary and exhausted after the roaming in the Land Under England, awoke eventually in his bed, illuminated with his mother’s worried countenance.

This book is my immense recommendation, despite the laborious theme which employs. It is quite fluently written, which facilitates a lot the burden which the story bears.

[Timothy Mayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by Irishman Joseph O'Neil, this was one of the forgotten masterpieces on KEW's essential list. The author had a job in the Irish ministry of education, not hard to believe because he did like his wordage. Not that being a verbose author is such a bad thing; look what Will Shakespeare was able to accomplish. But all the narrative does make for a tiring read.
The book is narrated from the POV of a man searching underground for his father. The narrator is descended from a long line of Roman settlers of England and matures near the remnants of the Hadrian wall. In his family there is a tradition of finding an underground entrance to a subterranean world. Here, an entire company of Romans descended below the earth around the time of the Empire's fall. The narrator's father, after returning from WW1 shell-shocked, became obsessed with finding the entrance and disappeared. The narrator eventually follows in the footsteps of his father, although it is never precisely said how he finds the entrance.
After traveling through caves illuminated by phosphorescent glow, and battles with savage reptiles, he eventually finds an underground Roman civilization. But the civilization has become fused into a group mind. Somehow in the far past, telepathic humans were born who used their abilities to control the rest of the tribe. Known as "Masters of Knowledge", they see to it that ordinary humans are trained as tools in service of the Roman state. In fact, these Romans have no need of slaves since every human being is in service to the state.
The average Romans are described as "automatons", show no emotion, don't speak, and exist to do whatever task is needed for the maintenance of society. Consequently, the underground cities have no houses, just hedges to separate the workers into divisions of labor. Beneath the "Masters of Knowledge" are the Commanders, who supervise work gangs via their telepathic abilities. When the narrator first encounters the Romans, his mind is probed by a Commander who is shocked to discover there are some people immune to his abilities.
Eventually, the Roman Masters decide the narrator must be "absorbed" into the state. They decide to do this by showing him how the state functions, hoping he will see the error of his will. The narrator, on the other hand keeps insisting he get to see his father. Finally, the Romans force him from their civilization, as they figure he'll willingly come back to them, rather than try to find his way around in the darkness.
Where Land soars is in it's description of the underground world. Hollow Earth theory was always a guilty pleasure of mine and I delighted in all the literature it spawned. Give me a DVD of Attack of the Mole Men, the soundtrack to Journey to the Center of the Earth and I am one happy geek. This book has the most vivid imagery of what an underground world might be like I've ever encountered. He shows us vast seas illuminated by ionic displays. The seas are surrounded by swamps populated by predatory toads and spiders the size of lions. Everywhere, the phosphorescent glow of giant mushrooms illuminate the landscape.
But there's not a lot of dialogue here. Since the Romans communicate by thought, they place ideas in the narrators head to describe themselves. At least half of the book is his impressions of the subterranean world. All of this can make for a hard verbal slog.
I can see why KEW put it on his list, since it has the best visual concept of what an underground world might be like. But it's not an easy read by any means.

[Philip Magnier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn to read this -- actually forced would be closer to the mark -- by the author's background.

I'd never heard of him though he was Irish (like me) and he wrote SF/fantasy in the 1930s when most Irish people had no clue of that genre. In his day job, he created the Irish educational system through being the head civil servant of that department for 21 years. A man of many parts then.

He writes well. The story and writing styles encompass a short memoir of childhood, great adventure, horrified descriptions of a dystopia, and an engrossing conclusion. All of it moves along in a pacy way though other reviewers disagree. At times it is overwritten but not often.

It seems pretty obvious that his main motivation for writing it was the message on the dangers of the totalitarianism and authoritarianism rampant through Europe and Russia in that decade before the WWII.

His message is expressed in his description of an underground society, with a conditioned supine population who are also controlled telepathically. It's a chilling exposition and the strongest part of the book evoking horrors from that apocalyptic time of fascism, nazism, and indeed marxism.

The adventure story element, a man desperately searching his missing father, leads us across barren mountain land, strange jungles and monsters, and high seas, all incorporating great tension and human desperation.

A totally forgotten, quite weird, enjoyable, adventure story with a hugely serious undertone.

[Joe]

I knew very little about this book before reading and I'm glad that was the case. Simply put, a man goes in search of his missing father and ends up in an underground city with very strange inhabitants in the form of roman descendants controlled by a kind of physic hive mind. It sounds strange and it is. It's also very dark with introspective moments and thoughts on society. Some of those thoughts do seem a little simplistic at times but that's only a minor thing.

Overall I enjoyed this.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is billed as an escapist fantasy that is an allegory of a totalitarian fascist society. I am not so sure of that. I admit that there are parts of the work that mimic such a society, but there are also elements of it that strike a slightly different chord. Those who are making the claim don't appear to appreciate the difference between the autocratic and the technocratic. The author certainly confuses the two.

The premise of the book is that, hidden under the central spine of England, lies a vast remnant of the old Roman Empire. It is organised on autocratic lines and authority is exercised through telepathic mind control. The main character of the book descends into the world - via a secret entrance at Hadrian's Wall - to find his father, who voluntarily enters this world previously. The hero - Anthony Julian (yes, really) - fights off weird and wonderful creatures and wrestles with the mind controllers to retain control of his senses.

He is aided by his strength of purpose - to find his father, which, eventually, he does. However, his father has given control of his mind to the controllers and has ended up hating his son and is determined to kill him. The book ends with the father chasing his son and, in turn, being killed by a number of monsters at the exit to this underground world.

In his quest, the hero is shown how the young people of the underground world are educated prior to being sorted and graded for their life tasks. This reminded me of the world of the 'Eleven Plus' - grammar school for the managers, secondary moderns for the worker bees. All rigorous, all regimented, all very English. There seemed to be little scope for social mobility and inequality seemed ingrained into the system. However, this imaginary Roman society appears to have given up slavery as an institution. All citizens were now mind slaves - free within the confines of their allotted roles.

So far, the narrative follows an autocratic route - which is how the author saw a totalitarian society. What he failed to capture was the possibility for a democratic society to achieve a broadly similar outcome. In reading the book, I couldn't see much difference between an autocratic command society and a democratic society governed by a closed order of civil servants and 'experts'. This aspect of governance is largely overlooked. The organisation of the underground world in the book reminded me very much of the way in which large corporations are organised. And we freely accept this rule as a consequence of our employment.

This is why I was unsure that the book was an allegory of a totalitarian fascist society. I can see the point, but I wouldn't want to press it too far because it might not be as rigorous as we think it to be.

This is a slow read. The book was written in the 1930s and it has a style of writing that nowadays feels a little old fashioned. The pace of the plot is slow and tempts the reader to ask the author to come to the point. It is worth sticking with it because we end up asking about the similarities between this imaginary world and the one we inhabit. It's a thought provoking book and that in itself should recommend it.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was originally published in 1935, and has been sitting on my bookshelf since about 1936. Kidding, but it has been quite some time. I believe it was a suggestion from my old online friend Seth (codename Orbitsville), probably on one of the "Top 100" lists he was so fond of.

Though I was often impressed with the quality of the writing, I have to admit that I was just as often bored by the pacing and repetition. It definitely had a Lovecraftian feel, though I have no idea if Mr. O'Neill had any idea who Lovecraft was. There was definitely some metaphor going on here, as with many older sci-fi books, basically "life would be so easy if you just gave up all control of your life and let someone else worry about things."

If you're into cerebral adventures in dark caves, including monsters and proto-humans with psionic powers, give this a try.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 2 out of 5]

From what I've read about this book, I expected to love it - a mysterious subterranean adventure (very much influenced by the The Aeneid) which is also a satire on the rise of Nazism, very much a talking point in 1935 when it was published. But I found it to be diffuse, hard to engage with, and dull. Very sad.

[Paul Hancock · Rating 2 out of 5]

The prologue to this book essentially lays out the entire story spoilers and all, but without any warning that this was going to be the case. As such the story was less enthralling that it could have otherwise been. In addition to the spoilers there were to other things that made this a hard slog of a read. Firstly was the near complete lack of dialogue, and secondly was the very (VERY) long sentences. Often entire paragraphs were made from a single, long, sentence.

There are parts of this story that I enjoyed and made it worth finishing, however this isn't a book that I would recommend highly.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had a battered ex-library hard cover of this for over 30 years. I finally got around to reading it. Don't know what prompted me to blow the dust off and read it, but I did. It is both excellent and tedious. It puts me in mind of CS Lewis' Cosmic Trilogy. They were both written between the War to End All Wars and the second War to End All Wars. Both look at similar themes of returned soldiers being changed and the rise of Nazism in society.

The writing style is excellent. It has an almost lyrical cadence when you get into the rhythm of the words. Sadly the last 2/3 of the book the story pace really slows and the protagonists introspection becomes too repetitive. He makes his point. Then makes it again. And again, in case you weren't paying attention. But the writing does keep the repetition readable.

The book is quite disturbing for the society it portrays. I would rate it's message as important and thought provoking as Orwell or Huxley.

I also loved that it had a bit of the feel of Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth about it, which is one of my favourite novels.

This book is under appreciated and not often talked about. This is my meager attempt to redress that. I do recommend reading this book, bearing in mind my caveats about pacing and repetition.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Exceedingly tedious style, filled with repetitions and pointless nattering. And almost no dialogue at all...eek! Seriously, it could have been cut in half without any problem at all, and possibly would've been at its best in the 50-100 page range. The delineation of the underground society is the only real point of interest, and unfortunately the narrator reacts to it all too often in that kneejerk pulpy way (the same kind of guy who points to the heretic in some hokey medieval movie and screams out, "Witch!"). I skimmed pretty much the whole thing, and you would best be advised to do so too. Toward the end, when he says (and not only once) that he is leaving out some of the details of his escape to avoid causing tedium, you will probably be rolling your eyes toward the ceiling (I know I did).

[Caro · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is touted as a classic of science fiction, but I found it dull and depressing. It starts off on a promising note:

The story that I have to tell is a strange one--so strange indeed that many people may not believe it, and the fact that the events related in it happened in Great Britain itself will, probably, make it less credible than if it had happened in Central Africa or the wilds of Tibet or the lands round the sources of the Amazon, now so much favoured by travellers.

But soon enough our narrator has made his way underground, where he finds a totalitarian state populated by unfeeling humans, and his life becomes a slog, first to get to the bottom and find his father, and then to escape back up again. Probably groundbreaking when it was published in the thirties, but does not hold up today.

[Edward Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit of an odd concept, and I’m surprised it was considered so highly. It seems to take two completely separate ideas; a lost Roman civilisation and a race of telepaths, and combines them in an unusual way that shouldn’t work, yet it does, I didn’t feel myself questioning the concept as I read, nor how these people became telepaths in the first place, which just goes to show that it must have been reasonably well written for me to not think of this when I was reading. Instead I became immersed in Anthony’s search for his father, a search that we pretty much know from the start is not going to be successful.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whew, finally done. I definitely agree with other reviewers that there was too much repetition & not enough dialogue, but I usually give anything tagged dystopian a try. Basically it's a novel about tyranny & mind control, but I'm sure there is a lot more meaning to the story that just flew over my head. The automatons kind of reminded me of the eloi in H.G. Wells "The Time Machine", but at least the eloi talked. I know "Land Under England" has been put up there with "Pilgrim's Progress", but John Bunyan's novel is definitely a better book.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really didn't like this. In fact I pretty much hated it. At times it was torture to make it through. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 is that it is very original. I'm not going to go into it, but don't read it. Especially if you are at all claustrophobic. Pretty much the whole thing is underground, in the dark, etc.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony Julian goes to the Land Under England, a sideways universe which echoes Rome, in search of his father.

This 'Inferno' inspired SF novel, written by the Irish Secretary for Education during the rise of Hitler, contains many warnings about totalitarianism and mind control.

More relevant today than, sadly, it should be.

[Astrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very much. It was also incredibly readable for something written in the 30's.

[Qylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, it's a long hard slog to get through this book. But really all those underground metaphors about the meaning of life and breaking free from your past, err, I mean father...

Still, it's good for you and I'd encourage anyone to read it.

[Nina V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through this being one of the books studied in my friends Thesis on obscure Irish Literature, I discovered a whole other realm of “science fiction”, and was pleasantly amazed.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunate that I couldn't finish the book and had to return it. Hopefully I can come back to it one day. Seems like it got pretty interesting in the second half.

[Shalla Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, far-fetched but still very enjoyable. The imagining of Land Under England is great, and the love of the hero for his lost father drives the story on at a good pace.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to Jules Verne but more intense.

[Timothy · Rating 1 out of 5]

incredibly tedious, mind-numbingly dull

the only interesting thing about this novel is that this Journey to the Center of the Earth / dystopia mash-up was written in 1935

claims that this is some sort of satire on Hitlerian totalitarianism are giving this thing way too much credit, a big overreach ...

[Jason Royle · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars feels harsh, because I generally enjoyed it.

It follows a guy searching for his Dad through an underground world populated by weird creatures, plants, but notably, a strange neo-roman empire.

There's adventure & major sci-fi elements, which are right up my street, but I struggled with the main character, who spends large parts of the book spiralling through paranoia, anxiety & pure speculation on what he's experiencing. I got the impression that the psychological element was a major part of the book, but some of the conclusions he draws early on in his experience were a bit premaure & jarring at times.

However, it's fun, interesting and an enjoyable SF Masterworks.

[Maurice Fontaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Notation sans doute sévère de ma part, mais je n’ai pas trop accroché à ce roman et je ne vois pas trop son intérêt (autre que comme jalon historique du genre ?) pour un lecteur du XXIème siècle.

Style daté, héros très passif, coïncidences heureuses… je ne vois guère de points positifs sur ce livre.

[Mircea Valcea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably the slowest book i have ever read. Page of "nothing happens" after page after page and so on. Also, i expected a 1930s scifi and got a1830s writing style adventure book.
The slowest adventure ever, though.

[Ralph Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book’s introduction talking about how the book was anti-fascist was a better read than the book inside but I liked the gritty, realistic way the character’s protagonist explores the caves.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated

[D-day · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting 'Lost World' story as a man searching for his father finds a lost civilization underground. These are remnants of a Roman Legion who have created a society amongst the phosphorescent mushrooms and giant spiders.
Of course there is a reason O'Neill chose to portray the civilization as Latin speaking Romans, rather than say lost Vikings. Because the underlying theme of the novel is a warning against fascism. Published in 1935 at the height of Mussolini's power in Italy, O'Neill describes a civilization where "Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state" to quote Mussolini himself.