Cyrus Field Willard was an American journalist, political activist, and theosophist. Deeply influenced by the writing of Edward Bellamy, Willard is best remembered as a principal in several utopian socialist enterprises, including the late 1890s colonization efforts of the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth (BCC).
Willard was deeply influenced by Edward Bellamy's 1888 utopian novel Looking Backward, and spent more than a decade after its publication working as a socialist activist.
Looking Backward: 2000–1887 is a utopian science fiction novel by the American journalist and writer Edward Bellamy first published in 1888.
Cover of the Ticknor & Co. first edition of Looking Backward, 2000–1887
German Reclam edition 1919