Several notes before we begin:
The full title of this novel is Etidorhpa, or, the end of the earth: the strange history of a mysterious being and the account of a remarkable journey, but since that's far too long I'll simply refer to it as Etidorhpa.
Etidorhpa is available to read for free via Project Gutenberg! If you're interested in reading it for free, click here.
SUMMARY
Written in 1895 by John Uri Lloyd, Etidorhpa is as much, if not more so, a speculative/theoretical textbook as it as a novel.
Concerning the former, Lloyd uses this book to share speculations on physics, chemistry, spirituality, and many other concepts, making the book much more than a novel.
Concerning the latter, it is a story of a man’s (simply named The Man) exploration of the world around him and its connection to spirituality. He is led by a mysterious eyeless guide to the center of the hollow earth, a journey on which he discovers that nearly all of man’s science is flawed and the contention between it and religion is pointless, as they are one and the same. It is told through two narrators, one being The Man and the other a man named Drury. In the novel, The Man is relaying his adventure so that Drury can publish a book (Etidorhpa) off it.
Yet it also falls into the category of historical fiction. After reading the book and doing some research I found that a large portion of it is based on the mysterious disappearance of William Morgan. If you haven't heard of him, check him out here.
I will get into each of these categories later on, as I think their inclusion is important to understanding Lloyd's novel. But before I get into the book, let me begin by saying that it is impossible to cover everything this novel contains in a single blog post, and I do not intend to write multiple posts on Lloyd’s work. Even if I did, I am certain I would cover only a small margin of what the book contains. Therefore I am going to be picking one or two aspects to present and write about those rather than try to tackle the entire thing.
TECHNIQUE
NOVEL VERSUS TEXTBOOK
I stated earlier that this book is a mixture of the two, but I think it’s necessary to reiterate it and discuss why this is important. On the one hand, this book has a very exciting story concept and could be a very adventurous story. Very early on we see a seemingly magical old man, a cult kidnapping (much like the real life case of William Morgan), and the beginning of a journey toward enlightenment. The Man experiences so many things that should put this book at the same level as Journey to the Center of the Earth and other early adventure stories. To list a few, throughout the novel The Man is prematurely aged, led by a guide with no eyes who is able to transcend the laws of physics, overcomes the need to breath, experiences an intoxicated illusion in which he is eternally burned and frozen to death, and finally witnesses heaven. All of this should make for an extremely captivating novel, yet I found myself nearly dozing off at parts. Granted, it’s an older book and therefore somewhat difficult to read, but it is certainly strange enough that it should be entertaining at the least.
But as I stated in the summary, Etidorhpa is also a platform for scientific speculations, and from what I understand, Lloyd was a very scientific man. At only 14 he began an apprenticeship for a chemist, a position that would lead to his full-time role. In his adult life he was influential in the development of pharmacognosy, ethnobotany, economic botany, herbalism, and was also a leader in the Eclectic Medicine movement. Therefore it shouldn't be surprising that he would include such knowledge in this book. And seeing as Etidorhpa covers a contradiction to science (the hollow earth theory), it seems the perfect opportunity to weave science into a story.
But herein lies a problem. While both novels and textbooks are wonderful things, rarely ever do they cross over. Yes, novels can be used for teaching, and I suppose some people get entertainment from textbooks, but they do not usually exist in the same physical manifestation. Lloyd seems to deny this and attempt a union anyway. And while the book is masterfully written and is overall a very sturdy novel, it does not feel like a very good story, mostly because what story there is is dominated by scientific explanations.
For example, toward the end, The Man and his guide leap off a cliff which is stated to be over six thousand miles deep. This is one of those very bizarre and exciting portions, because as we soon learn, gravity is altered and, because they are in the inner depth of the hollow earth, normal physics do not apply. When beginning this section, it feels like it will be a very interesting and notable piece of the story, and to some degree, it is. After they leap, however, there are seven chapters in which they fall. Seven chapters in which the guide explains why they will not die when they reach the bottom, how they can be falling as they are, and why gravity is different inside the center of the earth. Seven very dry chapters that, for me, really ruined the moment.
Written with less explanation and more emotion, this part of the story could have been very thrilling and exciting. Instead, because everything was explained, it just felt empty. These moments fill Etidorhpa to the point that almost every bizarre happening is explained before the reader gets a chance to marvel at it.
Now, I want to clarify that I am not dissing Lloyd. What he’s doing here is what he’s passionate about, which is what all writers should do when writing a novel. But when it comes down to it, I think Lloyd is much more of a teacher and philosoper than he is a storyteller.
This leads me to my next point, which carries off an earlier point I made.
RUINING THE MOMENT
From the standpoint of entertaining a reader who is not a scientist, I think that giving thoroughly detailed logical explanations can sometimes hinder a reader's investment. For example, if some of the characters and anomalies in Etidorhpa were mystified a little rather than fully explained I think I might have been more invested in them. If you tell the reader too much, there’s no need for them to be amazed. In fact, there’s a quote from the book that captures this perfectly. After traveling in utter darkness, The Man and his guide sees a shred of light deep within the earth, at which The Man eagerly shouts and embraces his guide. The guide, however, rebukes him for his joyous reaction:
“Compose yourself; this emotional exhibition is an evidence of weakness; an investigator should neither become depressed over a reverse, nor unduly enthusiastic over a fortunate discovery.”
Likewise I regained my composure and prepared for the explanation that would follow in the following five pages. I think one of the problems here is also that the things that happen in the story are beyond bizarre, and certainly beyond rational believability. Also, the very moment they are presented, each of these over-the-top nigh magical scenarios are immediately explained in such detail that the hollow earth theory somehow sounds possible. And while this should be a remarkable thing and is truly a testament to Lloyd's knowledge, it makes everything come across as plain and natural rather than amazing. It's like a magic trick, once you know the secret to it, it's no longer fascinating.
I think this also makes the book much weirder, because it is all explained it makes you think it could be true. For me, the effect was a strange discomfort while reading many of the bizarrities Lloyd writes. We all know that the hollow earth theory is false, and that people cannot overcome the need to breathe, but the way Lloyd presents these things feels like they could be real even though we know they aren't.
This leads to one of the biggest questions we must ask with this book.
WHO WAS IT WRITTEN FOR?
Compare Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth with Lloyd’s work. Despite the similarities these two books share (namely the hollow earth theory) as well as when they were published (Verne: 1864, Lloyd: 1895), one might think there would be similar reception. On the contrary, I’d never heard of Lloyd or Etidorhpa when I bought the book. I think this is due to the style of each book.
While it was also speculative science fiction, Verne wrote an adventure tale, thus he reached a much wider audience while also tapping into the circling scientific speculations. Lloyd on the other hand wrote a speculative science fiction novel in which the adventure took a backseat to his theories. Neither of these are better, just different. Lloyd was obviously appealing to those who understood relevant theories and speculations while Verne wrote a tale that inspired and enthralled even young readers. I cannot see any young readers enjoying Etidorhpa.
In my case, as a twenty-two-year-old, I admit that even I grew somewhat bored at times by the long breaks (more often than not full chapters) set aside for scientific explanations, seeing as I didn’t really understand them that much. I imagine, however, that someone more invested in science might find these things much more captivating, however, and possibly the real treasure of the novel. Therefore, I believe it is safe to conclude that this novel was written for scientifically-minded people.
Another important consideration is the time and historical relevance in which it falls. As I said earlier, the book connects very closely to the disappearance of William Morgan, which I will get into later. Morgan's incident happened in 1826, and Etidorhpa was written in 1895. While there is almost a seventy year gap, the case is more relevant than the almost two hundred year gap between 2020 and 1826. Therefore, I think people knew a bit more about William Morgan when they read Etidorhpa in 1895 than a reader who picks up the book today.
THEMES
SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALITY
This is a very central topic within the novel, and I feel that I have to discuss at least a portion of it.
Part of the full title is “The End of Earth”, and before reading I assumed that this referred to the limit of our knowledge of earth, the end of what we know. But toward the end of the novel it is revealed that heaven is in fact a physical place: the center of the earth. It is also important to note that Etidorhpa is also a person, a woman, whom I believe was supposed to be God. In an excerpt, The Man records:
“Arm and arm we passed into that domain of peace and tranquility, and as I stepped onward and upward perfect rest came over my troubled spirit. All thoughts of former times vanished. The cares of life faded; misery, distress, hatred, envy, jealousy, and unholy passions, were blotted from existence. Excepting my love for dear ones still earth-enthralled, and the strand of sorrow that, stretching from soul to soul, linked us together, the past became a blank. I had reached the land of Etidorhpa— The End of Earth.”
This is a very significant piece for several reasons. First, it is the idea that heaven is physical and can be reached. This presents an idea very similar to the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), in which man believed they could build a tower high enough to reach heaven. Of course, that didn’t work out well for them, but in Lloyd's story, The Man seems to be granted freedom to enter heaven, or Etidorhpa, as they refer to it, simply by reaching it physically. To my understanding, The Man’s purpose for relaying his adventure is so that one day man may make the same journey once they understand the science. The idea that we can reach heaven without salvation is one that really takes away the value of heaven. It also brings up the question: if anyone can enter, is it really that special? For example, in Christianity, we are given grace and allowed into heaven through Jesus’ death on the cross, that's the bridge so to speak. The bridge is open to those who accept said grace and become His children. Here, however, the bridge is manmade, based on our grasp of science, meaning Jesus' sacrifice isn't really necessary once the bridge is up.
This presents another interesting conclusion Lloyd comes upon in the novel: science is spirituality. Multiple times, The Man’s guide states that understanding science is understanding how better to serve the Creator. In one instance he states:
"A study of true science is a study of God," he continued. "Angels are organizations natural in accordance with God's laws. They appear superhuman, because of our ignorance concerning the higher natural forces. They exist in exact accordance with the laws that govern the universe; but as yet the attraction between clay and clay-bound spirit is so great as to prevent the enthralled soul of man from communicating with them."
As you can see, he isn’t talking about applying what we learn from God’s creation to our spiritual relationship with Him. He's talking about God being a thing, just like we are. That if we understand all of science we will be able to disect God and the angels like we would a frog in highschool biology.
It’s really strange, because, in the novel, while science is a way to heaven it is only the way to heaven apart from death. It is revealed that Chrisitian worship is still a viable way to enter heaven, only it requires our deaths. The guide (who knows pretty much eveything) doesn’t bash those who worship in church or who don’t understand science, therefore Jesus’ sacrifice and grace is still present. He states:
"The faith of the religionist is an example of the unquenchable feeling that creates a belief as well as a hope that there is a self-existence separate from earthly substances. The scoffing scientific agnostic, working for other objects, will yet astonish himself by elaborating a method that will practically demonstrate these facts, and then empirical religion, as exemplified by the unquestioning faith of the believer, and systematic science, as typified in the experimental materialist, will meet on common ground."
I appreciate some aspect of this, as it suggests that through science, we can prove that God is, and that the world around us is not a chance happening. But, the part that concerns me is the connection of this quote with the previous one, the idea that the spiritual is scientific. I believe that God transcends human comprehension, that never will man be able to know what God is and how He is.
I'm not sure what Lloyd believes, although I do believe that one's writing is often an image into the author's mind. It's possible that Lloyd believed science and spirituality are one, but I'm not sure I can come to that conclusion based on a book that speculates so much of science that even in his time was proven to be solid. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting concept, but one that denies greatly the value of Jesus’ sacrifice, God’s being, and the soul.
WILLIAM MORGAN
There is one more very important aspect of this novel to consider: this is novel is almost historical fiction. Up until The Man leaves the surface (roughly ten chapters), the story is basically the telling of what happened, or might have happened, to William Morgan. If you didn't visit the link embedded earlier, Morgan was supposedly kidnapped by the Freemasons in 1826 for betraying the oath he took to keep their secrets, an incident that sparked a long conflict against the Freemasons. The Freemasons have denied all of what happened to Morgan, of course, and some claim that they paid him to leave the country.
Whatever the truth is, the record that's stuck is that Morgan was kidnapped and drowned in the Niagra River. A year later, a body later washed up on the shores of Lake Ontario. This was assumed to be Morgan's although it was heavily decomposed and unrecognizable. Due to the state of the body, this conclusion was very uncertain, as some claimed the clothing on the body belonged to another man who had recently died. In short, no one really knows what happened to Morgan other than that he was silenced in one way or another by the Freemasons and never seen after 1826.
Lloyd makes no effort to hide the connection between his character (The Man) and Morgan, although in the novel the masons are presented in a much more generous light. The Man was kidnapped for beginning production of a book that would expose the mason's secrets, which is the exact same thing Morgan was kidnapped for. It really is stunning how closely Lloyd followed Morgan's case and fashioned his character off him. But it's still a bit of a strange way to write about a man who was kidnapped by what is more or less a cult.
For example, Lloyd's novel could be considered a happy ending to Morgan's story, as The Man is educated by the masons, and eventually reaches heaven with their guidance. But, this would also imply that the Freemasons are the good guys, that they hold the secrets of all of science, spirituality, and human happiness, and that their kidnapping is justified. I suppose, seeing as how The Man ends up publishing a book filled with many of the cult's secrets, it could also be seen as a middle-ground between Morgan and the Freemasons, a story in which they both win. Nonetheless, I'm not sure that it's in good taste to present kidnappers and potential murders as the good guys in a case like this.
Do I think Lloyd sympathized with the Freemasons? No, not entirely. I haven't been able to find anthing apart from this novel that connects him to masonry in any way. I think what he wrote was fiction, a sort of "what if", and that he intended it to be understood as such.
CONCLUSION
Etidorhpa, or, the end of the earth: the strange history of a mysterious being and the account of a remarkable journey is at surface level an interesting and very weird story and a more closely a deep dive into speculative science and spirituality.
I would not suggest this book to someone looking for a casual read. If, however, you are interested in a sort of cultish religious science story, Etidorhpa just might be the book for you.
The bottom line: strange, but not bad.
Comments