The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century

Published in 1827, The Mummy is set in the then-distant future of 2126 and envisions a world of advanced technology with some striking similarities to the one we know now, including a form of Internet. Steam-powered automatons take important roles such as lawyers and surgeons, farming work can be done by steam-powered plough, and ladies wear hair ornaments of controlled fire. This visionary technological setting is contrasted with a morality that has seemingly gone awry and it falls to the reanimated mummy of Cheops to try to find a role in this corrupted society. Jane C. Loudon (n e Webb) was among the earliest science fiction writers and a pioneer for several popular themes. The Mummy was her first fiction book and was the first known story to feature an Egyptian mummy returning to life. Although written nearly two centuries ago, and set in an age yet to come, Loudon's work seems remarkably prescient; many of the issues in The Mummy parallel the issues faced by the society of the early 21st century. A fascinating view of a world to come from one of the first writers in the genre.