Edward Bellamy
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Edward Bellamy was an American author and socialist known greatly for his famous work of Looking Backwards set in the year 2000. Bellamy was born in Chicopee Falls. His father was Rufus King Bellamy, a Baptist minister and a descendant of Joseph Bellamy. His mother was Maria Louisa Bellamy. Her father, Benjamin Putnam, had also been a Baptist minister, but had to withdraw from the ministry, following objections to him being made a freemason. Edward had two older brothers, Frederick and Charles. He was the cousin of Francis Bellamy, most famous for creating the Pledge of Allegiance. He married Emma Augusta Sanderson in1882. The couple had two children; Paul and Marion. He attended Union University, but did not graduate. While there, he joined the Theta Chi Chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. He studied law, but left the practice and worked briefly in the newspaper industry. He left journalism and devoted himself to literature, writing both short stories and novels. Some of his books include Dr. Heidenhoff’s Process (1880), Miss Lundstons Sister (1884), Equality (1897) and The Duke of Stockbridge (1900). His feeling of injustice in the economic system led him to write Looking Backwards 2000-1887 and its sequel, Equality. Bellamy died at his childhood home in Chicopee Falls at the age of 48 from tuberculosis.
Some of he influences on his writings was his love for journalism and his desires to write and produce great literature. Bellamy was inspired by at least three books which appeared before the publishing of Looking Backward. Bellamy claimed that he wrote his novel after exploring issues of social reform with his own “common sense” and rejected any literary or political inspiration. Looking Backward is actually a fictionalized version of the Cooperative Commonwealth and little more. Some of the themes associated with his book include socialism, communism, and trying to establish a balance between individualism and community.
Edward Bellamy was a successful man at writing literature and realized how great he was when he wrote Looking Backwards. Bellamy will always be remembered for his small but impactful accomplishments to American literature and journalism.