BOTH BY THE ORIGINAL DISCOVERER OF THE COUNTRY AND BY HIS SON
This novel was not published until 1901 and, as with many sequels, fails to engage in quite the same way as the original novel, possibly as it strays from the fantastic into the absurd. Butler turns his attention from the aspect of Erewhon which is antipathetic to machines, to one which is captivated by religion. Again, Butler used his imaginary world to satirise Victorian society and in particular, organised religion, and it was considered dangerous enough satire for his usual publisher Longmans to reject the manuscript for fear of a backlash from the established church. Eventually, it was published by Grant Richards.
The book is narrated by one of the hero’s sons. Higgs (the name of the hero of Erewhon, now revealed) returns to Erewhon and meets his former lover, Yram, and his son by her, George. To his astonishment, Higgs finds he has become a quasi-religious object of worship, around which the church of Sunchildism has developed. Higgs finds himself in danger as the malevolent Professors Hanky and Panky take action to prevent him undermining the religion with his reappearance and Higgs must turn to his son George for help.