The Fixed Period
by Anthony Trollope
The Fixed Period (1882) is Trollope's satirical Dystopian novel dealing with euthanasia to solve the problem of the aged. Set in the Republic of Britannula, a fictional island near New Zealand in the year 1980, it's narrated by the country's president, Neverbend, who as his name implies, sticks to enforcing "The Law" even as aging citizens begin to resist it. Interestingly, Trollope himself was 67 when he wrote the novel, the exact age it prescribes mandatory retirement, and one year to prepare for death. [Cartoon portrait of Trollope by Frederick Waddy, 1872.]
Volume I - Chapter I - Introduction
Chapter II - Gabriel Crasweller
Chapter III - The First Break-Down
Volume II - Chapter VII - Columbus and Galileo
Chapter VIII - The "John Bright"
Chapter XII - Our Voyage to England