
Flatland - A Romance of Many Dimensions - With Illustrations - by the Author, A SQUARE
Contents
FLATLAND
PART I THIS WORLD
§ 1 Of the Nature of Flatland
§ 2 Of the Climate and Houses in Flatland
§ 3 Concerning the Inhabitants of Flatland
§ 4 Concerning the Women
§ 5 Of our Methods of Recognizing one another
§ 6 Of Recognition by Sight
In Flatland, every citizen is a geometric figure confined to a single plane, moving like living silhouettes on an endless sheet of paper. Their society is rigidly ordered by the number of sides each shape possesses, and even basic perception is limited to seeing only straight lines. The narrator, a humble square, describes daily life, the climate, and the peculiar customs that arise when a two‑dimensional world tries to make sense of color, gender, and status.
The story takes a turn when a mysterious visitor from a realm of three dimensions—Spaceland—appears, taking the form of a sphere that can move above and below the flat surface. Through a series of startling demonstrations, the square is shown how depth, volume, and perspective exist beyond his world’s flatness. This encounter forces him to question everything he has been taught and opens a window onto a broader, more complex universe.
Language
en
Duration
~3 hours (192K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
1994-01-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1838–1926
Best known for Flatland, he turned big ideas about geometry, society, and perception into a story that still feels fresh. He was also a respected teacher and theologian whose work ranged from schoolbooks to serious religious scholarship.
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