When the Sleeper Wakes
Readers rate it 3.3 (28 on Hardcover)
274 pages · Released 2003 · Modern Library
Content report card
When the Sleeper Wakes parent’s guide: what’s inside
Sexual content
LGBTQ+ themes
What it offers
A note for parents
This classic dystopian science fiction novel explores themes of social inequality, power, and moral responsibility through the story of a man who wakes to find his wealth has created an oppressive society. While the core concepts are sophisticated, the book contains some violence, period-appropriate language, and morally complex situations that are better suited to older teens who can engage with its political and philosophical questions. The narrative rewards critical thinking about justice and social systems rather than offering clear-cut answers.
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From the publisher
A troubled insomniac in 1890s England falls suddenly into a sleep-like trance, from which he does not awake for over two hundred years. During his centuries of slumber, however, investments are made that make him the richest and most powerful man on Earth. But when he comes out of his trance he is horrified to discover... A troubled insomniac in 1890s England falls suddenly into a sleep-like trance, from which he does not awake for over two hundred years. During his centuries of slumber, however, investments are made that make him the richest and most powerful man on Earth. But when he comes out of his trance he is horrified to discover that the money accumulated in his name is being used to maintain a hierarchal society in which most are poor, and more than a third of all people are enslaved. Oppressed and uneducated, the masses cling desperately to one dream – that the sleeper will awake, and lead them all to freedom.
Shelved under
- Fiction
- Twenty-first century
- Technological innovations
- Time travel
- Science fiction
- Literature
- Classic Literature
- British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author)
- Fiction, fantasy, general
- Fiction, science fiction, general
- Dystopias
- English literature
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ISBN 9780812970005 · Modern Library