The Mummy!

In the twenty-second century, under a government headed by female sovereigns, England finds itself in an age of relative tranquility after three centuries of political volatility. Edric Montagu, the younger son of a baronet, finds himself the subject of a scheme to arrange his marriage to the niece of the Duke of Cornwall—a scheme in which he wants no part. Disillusioned and restless, Edric finds himself enticed by the strange theories proposed by Dr. Entwerfen, a scientist who believes that by using the power of electricity, it may be possible to reanimate a sufficiently well-preserved corpse. Defying his father, Edric sets off for Egypt to engage in a bold experiment to revive the mummy of King Cheops, utterly ignorant of exactly what he’s about to awaken—or the profound fate that it will soon unleash upon the English empire.

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.