Flatland

‘Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions’ is one of the most original pieces of fiction ever written by Edwin A. Abbott an English theologian clergyman educator and Shakespearean scholar. This is a satirical mathematical novella that also examines English society during the Victorian era. It describes the journeys of A. Square a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland where women-thin straight lines are the lowliest of shapes and where men may have any number of sides depending on their social status. Through strange occurrences that bring him into contact with a host of geometric forms Square has adventures in Spaceland (three dimensions) Lineland (one dimension) and Pointland (no dimensions) and ultimately entertains thoughts of visiting a land of four dimensions—a revolutionary idea for which he is returned to his two-dimensional world. Charmingly illustrated by the author Flatland is not only fascinating reading; it is still a first-rate fictional introduction to the concept of the multiple dimensions of space. This masterpiece of science (and mathematical) fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire that has charmed readers for more than 100 years.