Upsidonia by Archibald Marshall
Upsidonia is a fictional realm featured in a narrative about John Howard, who becomes trapped in a cave and emerges into this peculiar society. In Upsidonia, the values are inverted: wealth is scorned, and poverty is idealized, leading to a culture where individuals strive to appear destitute. Howard's initial experiences are bewildering; when he tries to give money to a beggar, he faces hostility, yet theft is viewed as an act of charity. As he navigates this topsy-turvy world with the help of Mr. Perry and his children, he learns the strange social etiquette and initially revels in the luxury that others disdain. However, Howard soon finds that the disapproval of his peers makes indulgence distasteful, prompting him to adapt to their values. Despite his attempts to accumulate wealth and return to his former life, fate continually thwarts his plans, leading him to gain an unintended reputation for financial acumen. His emotional journey becomes complicated as he falls in love with Miriam Perry, ultimately deciding to bring her back to his own world. The story culminates in a twist when Howard is trapped again and awakens in a hospital, dismissed as a dreamer, yet he remains determined to return to Upsidonia for love. This narrative explores themes of societal values, personal identity, and the nature of happiness within an unconventional setting.
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Subject Terms
Upsidonia
First published: 1915
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—utopia
Time of work: The early twentieth century
Locale: The city of Culbut in the state of Upsidonia
The Plot
While on a walking holiday, John Howard enters an unsafe cave and is cut off from the entrance by a rockfall. He goes deeper into the cave and finds another way out. He assumes that he is in the same England that he left behind, but when he tries to give sixpence to a tramp, he is threatened with arrest. By contrast, when a man attempts to relieve him of his watch and his money while he lies asleep, the act is construed by others as charity. He is in Upsidonia, where everyone longs to be desperately poor and wealth is despised.
Howard is saved from the vengeance of the tramp—who is actually Lord Potter, a stalwart of Upsidonia’s “dirty set”—by the philanthropically inclined Mr. Perry, who takes him in, apologizing profusely for the comforts he cannot help but provide. Perry’s children, Edward and Miriam, take the newcomer in hand and set about teaching him the perverse etiquette of Upsidonian society. At first, Howard is inclined to take full advantage of the opportunities for self-indulgence that the situation permits, but he finds the contempt of his fellows hard to bear. Wallowing in luxury quickly loses its appeal when it awakens such disgust in every witness.
In time, Howard learns to fit in with the Upsidonian way of life and to win a degree of respect from his hosts. As a member of the English lower middle class, he has been forced to cultivate abstemious habits that stand him in reasonably good stead in his new circumstances. Unfortunately, Lord Potter cannot forget the offense that Howard accidentally committed against him and continues to make his malice felt in both insult and action. Howard decides that the sensible thing to do is to brave the censure of his fellows by making a fortune as swiftly as possible and then return to the cave to force his way past the rock slide into his own world.
This scheme is ironically confounded by a series of disasters. Every move Howard makes to acquire wealth is betrayed by a quirk of fate that turns the gain to a loss, to the extent that he gains the reputation of being a financial wizard. As if this were not enough, he gradually falls in love with Miriam Perry and soon cannot bear the thought of leaving her behind. Eventually, he persuades her to accompany him back to his own world and goes back to the cave to make sure that he can bring her through safely.
Unfortunately, the insecure roof gives way again, trapping him. He wakes up with a sore head in an English hospital, where all his talk of Upsidonia is dismissed as a wild dream. He can hardly wait to be released so that he can go back again—if necessary, he decides, he will stay there forever, as long as he can be with his beloved Miriam.