The Park of Kings

Name: The Park of Kings
Author: Aleksandr Kuprin

The novel revolves around the life of a young nobleman who becomes disillusioned with his aristocratic upbringing and seeks to escape the constraints of his privileged world. He embarks on a journey of self-discovery, exploring themes of morality, class, and identity. Through his experiences, he grapples with the tension between his desire for freedom and his obligation to uphold the values of his family's legacy.

By Aleksandr Kuprin · First published 1909 · Genre: Literary Fiction, Social Commentary, Dystopian Fiction · 2,547 words

First lines

It was the beginning of the twenty-sixth century of the Christian era. The life of men on earth had changed beyond recognition. The colored races of mankind had already blended completely with the white races, adding to their blood that health, firmness, and longevity which are so characteristic of all hybrids and mongrels among animals. Wars ceased forever in the middle of the twentieth century, after dreadful slaughters in which the whole civilized world took part and which cost mankind tens of millions of human lives and hundreds of billions in money. Man's genius had rendered mild the severest climates, had drained swamps, had dug tunnels through mountains, transformed the earth into a luxuriant garden and a gigantic machine-shop, the productivity of which had increased tenfold. Improvements in machinery reduced the working day to four hours, while work became compulsory for everybody. Vices disappeared entirely and virtue blossomed out. To tell the truth, however, all this was tiresome enough. And it was no wonder that in the middle of the thirty-second century, after the great South African insurrection, which took the form of a protest against the existing wearisome order of things, the whole of humanity, in a frenzy of intoxication, entered again upon the road of war, blood, plots, corruption, and cruel despotism, and, for Lord knows which time in the long history of our planet, destroyed and turned into dust and ashes all the great achievements of the world's civilization.

What this Textopian page supports

The Park of Kings is listed on Textopian as a novel by Aleksandr Kuprin, dated 1909 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Novel
Author: Aleksandr Kuprin
Date: 1909 CE
Language: English
Genres: Literary Fiction, Social Commentary, Dystopian Fiction, Philosophical Fiction, Historical Fiction
Length: 2,547 words
Structure: 1 section, 42 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for The Park of Kings by Aleksandr Kuprin
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
Readability and classroom-planning context
Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

Discussion starters

What should a reader notice first when entering The Park of Kings?
How does this novel by Aleksandr Kuprin fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
Where does Literary Fiction first become important in the reading?

Similar titles

Genres

Literary Fiction — The work explores complex themes of identity, power, and the human condition through rich character development and introspective narrative.
Social Commentary — It critiques societal structures, particularly the decline of monarchy and the consequences of historical cycles of power and corruption.
Dystopian Fiction — The setting in a future society reflects a dystopian view of civilization's evolution and the cyclical nature of human behavior.
Philosophical Fiction — The narrative delves into existential themes, questioning the nature of power, legacy, and the search for meaning in life.