Since its first appearance in 1884, Edwin Abbott Abbott's "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions" has charmed and intrigued readers and scholars alike with its inventive mix of fantasy and reality. What on the surface amounts to a clever means of teaching principles of mathematics and science, upon deeper inspection emerges as an entertaining yet thought-provoking literary experiment. Through the eyes of its narrator A. Square, the novel implicitly satirizes a Victorian society in the grips of extraordinarily rapid change. Already having delighted and inspired for more than a century, "Flatland" continues to enjoy a rightful place in literary, scientific, and philosophical history, inviting its readers to be transported without roaming too far from home.
