
THE OLD FOLKS' PARTY
By Edward Bellamy 1898
In a cozy parlor, a tight‑knit group of twenty‑somethings gathers each week for music, cards and lively debate. When the turn comes for Henry to propose the evening’s amusement, he rattles off a curious plan: they will dress as the people they imagine themselves to be fifty years from now and hold an “old folks” party. The notion instantly sparks a mix of bewilderment and eager speculation among the members, who picture themselves as ghostly future selves rather than nostalgic relics.
The conversation drifts from imagined wrinkles and altered habits to deeper questions about how personality shifts over a lifetime. As each friend teases out the possible look, voice and outlook of their septuagenarian alter‑ego, the night becomes a playful laboratory for forecasting the inevitable march of time. Listeners are invited to join the fun, reflecting on their own future selves while savoring the wit and gentle philosophical wonder of a bygone era’s social club.
Full title
The Old Folks' Party 1898 1898
Language
en
Duration
~40 minutes (39K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David Widger
Release date
2007-09-21
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1850–1898
Best known for the hugely influential utopian novel Looking Backward, this Massachusetts writer imagined a future shaped by social equality and shared prosperity. His fiction and essays helped turn late-19th-century political debate into something vivid, readable, and surprisingly personal.
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by Edward Bellamy

by Edward Bellamy

by Edward Bellamy

by Edward Bellamy

by Edward Bellamy

by Edward Bellamy

by Edward Bellamy

by Edward Bellamy