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Nequa or The Problem of the Ages

Jack Adams

Nequa or The Problem of the Ages is one of the first feminist science fiction books published in the United States. It was first serialized in the newspaper Equity, and two editions were published in Topeka, Kansas in 1900. The voyage described in Nequa is to the Arctic. The captain of the ship is amazed to find that when they reach a certain spot, which should be close to the North Pole, the compass shows that the ship is suddenly traveling south. Actually they have sailed into the interior of the earth, where they meet the Altrurians, a people who have developed into a more cooperative society than those of the outer earth. Individual Altrurians describe how the evolution of their society took place. These explanations reflect the Populist thought of the time, with definite feminist proclivities, thereby providing the tone of a political novel.
While the book was published with the pseudonym of Jack Adams, it was copyrighted under the names Alcanoan A. Grigsby and Mary P. Lowe, who are presumed to be the true authors. - Summary by Jeff Burke