When the Sleeper Wakes

The Sleeper Awakes (1910) is a dystopian science fiction novel by H. G. Wells about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years, waking up in a completely transformed London, where, because of compound interest on his bank accounts, he has become the richest man in the world. The main character awakes to see his dreams realised, and the future revealed to him in all its horrors and malformities. The story follows the fortunes of a late nineteenth century Englishman identified only as Graham, living in London in 1897. One day, he suddenly falls into a strange coma-like "trance," due to his dabbling in drugs to cure a prolonged and serious insomnia. He sleeps over the course of decades, and awakens exactly 203 years later, in futuristic 2100. He soon finds out that he has inherited sizeable wealth from his cousin Warmings and a friend of his, Isbister. His money had been put into a trust. Over the years, the trust, known as the White Council, used Graham's unprecedented wealth to establish a vast political and economic world order. Upon first awakening, Graham is extremely confused and suffers from severe culture shock. The individuals who had been charged with minding him during his sleep react to his awakening with surprise and alarm. No one had seriously expected Graham to ever arise from his slumber. Somehow, word spreads to the general populace that the sleeper has awakened. This leads to a great deal of distress among Graham's stewards which only increases when large mobs begin crowding around the building housing Graham. They shout and chant demands to see the fabled sleeper.