Edwin A. Abbott was a man of many qualities. As a cleric, a biblical and literary scholar, and an author, he established a minor but nonetheless significant place in Victorian literature. While many scholars remember Abbott for his well-known debate with John Henry Newman, readers of fantasy and science fiction are more familiar with the novel that combines several of his various interests: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884).

Abbott was a private man, and little is known of his life. He was born in London in 1838 to an Anglican family and received a degree in divinity at St. John's College at Cambridge University. He spent two years as assistant master at the King Edward School in Birmingham, then from 1865 to 1889 served as headmaster at the City of London School, where he championed the study of English. After his educational career Abbott devoted himself to scholarship, aided by...