You’re probably familiar with Middle-earth. You’ve definitely heard of Westeros. But there is a massive, thousand-page utopian masterpiece sitting on the dusty shelves of used bookstores that makes most modern world-building look like a rough draft. It’s called Islandia.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a miracle the book even exists. Austin Tappan Wright, the man who built this world, wasn't a professional novelist. He was a high-powered Harvard-educated lawyer and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. To his colleagues, he was a buttoned-up legal expert. In private? He was the secret architect of an entire nation.
The Secret Life of Austin Tappan Wright
Wright didn't just write a story. He lived it. Starting from when he was a young boy and continuing until his tragic death in a car accident in 1931, he spent his spare time documenting a fictional country in the Southern Hemisphere.
Think about that. For decades, while he was practicing law and raising a family, he was quietly filling thousands of pages with:
- A 350-page formal history of the nation.
- Detailed geological and meteorological charts.
- Complete family trees for the Islandian peerage.
- A fully functional glossary of the Islandian language.
- Population tables and gazetteers for every province.
When he died at age 48, his family found a manuscript that was over 2,300 pages long. It wasn't meant for us. It was for him. His wife, Margaret, eventually typed the whole thing out, and his daughter, Sylvia, spent years editing it down to a "manageable" 1,000 pages.
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The version of Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright that finally hit bookstores in 1942 was a sensation. People were stuck in the middle of World War II, and here was a book that offered a literal world of escape—not a fantasy world with dragons, but a grounded, realistic society that had simply chosen a different path.
What Actually Happens in Islandia?
The plot follows a young American named John Lang. He’s a bit of a blank slate, a Harvard grad who befriends an Islandian student named Dorn. Because Lang is one of the few Americans who actually bothered to learn the language, he gets appointed as the U.S. Consul to Islandia in 1907.
Basically, Lang arrives just as the country is facing an existential crisis. Islandia has a "Hundred Law" that restricts the number of foreigners to exactly 100 at any given time. They are isolationists. They don't want your steam engines. They don't want your factories. They definitely don't want your "progress."
The "Mora Treaty" is the big political hook. If it passes, Islandia opens up to international trade. If it fails, the country stays closed. Lang is supposed to be pushing for American business interests, but he starts falling in love—not just with the women, but with the philosophy.
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The Islandian Way: Better Than Ours?
What makes this book a cult classic is the philosophy. Wright wasn't just daydreaming; he was critiquing the industrial rat race. Islandians value amia (success in living) over ania (success in getting things).
They have these four specific types of love that make our modern dating apps look primitive:
- Amia: Success or contentment in one's life and environment.
- Ania: A deep, lasting, committed love (usually marriage).
- Apia: A sexual, passionate attraction that might not be permanent.
- Alia: A love of place or family lineage.
In the book, Lang is constantly confused. He’s used to the American "hustle." He expects people to want to get ahead. Instead, he meets people like Dorna and Nattana who are perfectly happy farming their ancestral land. They work because they like it. Even the "nobility" gets their hands dirty in the soil.
It’s a world without a God, but with a deep sense of religion. Their "church" is the land and the family line. It’s remarkably progressive for something written in the 1920s. Prostitutes are rehabilitated without judgment. Women have a level of social agency that was rare in the real 1907.
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Why You Should Actually Read It
It’s long. It’s really, really long. Sometimes it feels like reading a series of council meetings. But if you can get into the rhythm of it, the world-building is intoxicating.
You start to feel the "tanrydoon"—an Islandian custom where you prepare a specific room in your house for a friend who is so essential to your life that they are basically family. You start to understand why they hate the "dirty" smell of coal-fired ships.
Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright isn't just a book; it's a mood. It’s for anyone who has ever looked at their phone and felt like the modern world is a bit of a mistake.
Getting Started with Islandia
If you want to dive into this world, don't just rush the text. It’s a slow burn.
- Find the Overlook Press edition. It’s usually the most complete version available today.
- Look for the maps. You can find digital copies of Wright's original hand-drawn maps online. They help tremendously with tracking Lang's travels through the provinces.
- Don't ignore the sequels. Mark Saxton, the editor who helped bring the book to life, actually wrote three sequels (The Islar, The Two Kingdoms, and Havoc in Islandia) based on Wright's extensive notes. They’re shorter and more plot-driven.
- Read the introduction. Basil Davenport wrote a 61-page "Introduction to Islandia" back in 1942. It’s often included in newer editions and explains the "History" that Wright never got to publish.
Take your time. The Islandians wouldn't want you to rush. They believe that the most important thing a person can do is truly inhabit the place where they are.