Methuselah’s Children

E490054

Methuselah’s Children is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein that follows a secretive group of long-lived humans fleeing persecution and exploring alien worlds, and is notable for introducing elements later central to his Future History series.

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Label Occurrences
Methuselah’s Children canonical 1

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf science fiction novel
author Robert A. Heinlein NERFINISHED
containsCharacter Andrew Jackson Libby NERFINISHED
Lazarus Long NERFINISHED
Mary Sperling NERFINISHED
containsGroup Howard Families NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
firstPublicationForm serial
firstPublicationYear 1941
firstPublishedIn Astounding Science Fiction NERFINISHED
focusesOn a secretive group of long-lived humans
the Howard Families NERFINISHED
genre science fiction
hasMotif first contact with alien species
flight from authoritarian government
secret breeding program
hasRevisedText expanded and updated prose compared to the 1941 serial
influenced later depictions of Lazarus Long in Heinlein’s works
subsequent science fiction treatments of longevity
inUniverseChronologyPosition late in Heinlein’s Future History timeline
language English
literaryMovement Golden Age of Science Fiction NERFINISHED
mainCharacter Andrew Jackson Libby NERFINISHED
Lazarus Long NERFINISHED
Mary Sperling NERFINISHED
narrativePerspective third-person
notableFor developing the concept of selective breeding for longevity
introducing elements central to Heinlein’s Future History continuity
introducing the Howard Families
partOf Robert A. Heinlein’s Future History series NERFINISHED
plotSummary The Howard Families flee persecution on Earth and travel to alien worlds in search of safety. NERFINISHED
publisherOfBookEdition Gnome Press NERFINISHED
relatedWork The Man Who Sold the Moon NERFINISHED
The Past Through Tomorrow NERFINISHED
The Roads Must Roll NERFINISHED
Time Enough for Love NERFINISHED
revisedEditionYear 1958
series Future History NERFINISHED
setting alien planets
future Earth
interstellar space
subgenre space opera
targetAudience adult readers
theme exploration of alien cultures
freedom and individualism
longevity
persecution of minorities
social and political implications of extended lifespan

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Robert A. Heinlein notableWork Methuselah’s Children