After London is important because it is probably the first depiction of post apocalyptic London written as fiction. Furthermore, Jefferies goes to great lengths to describe how the ecology of soutthern England would change and evolve if all the humans inhabitants were to suddenly drop in number by 95% or so. Written in 1884, it is interesting to see how someone from this Victorian mindset could imagine such a world. Admittedly, I found the ecology chapters much more interesting than what he speculates, via narrative fiction, about the social interactions of humans. But even this is interesting as he sets up a tier system of hamlet dwellers, travelers or wasteland dwellers, and then finally the wildmen which sound more like modern day hobos. Jefferies does all this without really naming the cause of the disaster flat out. Compared to some of the fantastic science fiction minds of modern times, After London, does not really stand out as all that engrossing our interesting in its scope but it at least is a starting point for those seeking out early writing about this subject.

Amaryllis at the Fair is not really much like After London, but more of a day in the life of story regarding the idyllic agricultural setting of England that Jefferies was raised in. Not all that interesting unless you are into character sketches of English pastoral inhabitants from the mid 1800's.

My friend and long distance reading comrade Matt read this with me in the Fall/Winter of 2007, upon his recommendation. Our choice was mainly due to our mutual fascination and enjoyment of post-apocalyptical fiction. ( )