More than a Utopia

New Atlantis (1626) is a utopian novel about scientific enlightenment in the Early Modern world. The book was written by Sir Francis Bacon, a senior statesman under King James I, and published after his death. It is a travel narrative describing an undocumented island called Bensalem and the group of European sailors who are forced to land there due to poor conditions and an ailing crew. Well-written, albeit unfinished, the novel shows some of the earliest signs of futurism in English literature as Bacon focuses the reader’s attention on a huge number of fictional inventions. Bacon explores themes of knowledge’s power, the ethics of government and the moral responsibility which must underpin scientific endeavour. His Salomon’s House, the administrative centre of Bensalem, is a prototypical modern university or scientific institution – a place where learning is advanced and knowledge is produced. New Atlantis becomes more than another utopia through its technical focus on the building blocks of an ethical and scientific society, and presents itself as a manifesto for a harmonious society to which Early Modern England could aspire.