Fruitlands : The Alcott Family and Their Search for Utopia

Fruitlands was one of history's most unsuccessful û but most significant û utopian experiments. It was established in Massachusetts in 1843 by Bronson Alcott (whose daughter Louisa May, future author of Little Women, was among the members) and an Englishman called Charles Lane. They believed people could transform society by following a strict regime of veganism and celibacy, looking back towards the Garden of Eden while anticipating our present preoccupations with ecology and environ mental ism. But physical suffering and emotional conflict - ultimately developing into a battle between Lane and Abigail Alcott for possession of her husband - brought the experiment to an untimely end.

Richard Francis has taught at universities on both sides of the Atlantic and has previously written on Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers, and on the Salem witch trials. He is also a novelist.